


Summer Breeze, Winter Heat

by Eva98_L



Category: Start-Up (Korea TV)
Genre: Canon Divergence, F/M, Family Dynamics, Fluff, Friendship, Mutual Pining, Romantic Comedy, Slow Burn, a tiny bit of angst, also many bits of cute awkwardness, long fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-12 16:55:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 55,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28638855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eva98_L/pseuds/Eva98_L
Summary: Everything in this world has a start. They started with a blind date.
Relationships: Han Ji Pyeong/Won In Jae
Comments: 106
Kudos: 288





	1. Meeting You

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This story takes place in Start Up universe but I made some changes you’ll see soon.  
> I haven’t written anything since YEARS and writing isn’t my forte but my jinjae-starved sis needed more content, so I wanted to share this story here.  
> Since English is not my first language there might be typos, wrong expressions, etc. 
> 
> Have a happy reading ❤️

“Today’s meeting ends here. Thanks for coming.”

Injae smiled at her co-workers and started packing her things up. The room that remained silent for the last hour was now filled with low murmurs as everybody started talking about the meeting, things they needed to do next or what they were planning to have for lunch.

The project they have been working for the last month was finally showing results so Injae was in a very good mood. In fact, every project Injae has worked on since she joined her stepdad’s company has had a great impact. She always gave her best at anything and she was very ambitious.

So many good qualities she had but still her stepdad found her “single status” more useful. For the last year and even more since she started working for her stepdad, he tried to introduce her to a wide range of rich young (or not so young) men. From chaebol heirs to lawyers and even politicians. _Connections_ was what her stepdad called it.  
  


Today couldn’t be different. The moment she stepped outside her meeting room, her dear stepbrother/secretary came to inform her about their dad wanting to have lunch together. 

It happened about twice in a month. They would have lunch as a normal family would, but instead of talking about their lives, their problems, their achievements, they would not so subtly talk about this one man who was probably incredibly handsome, and _Oh so kind and well-mannered_ and of course, rich. She would eat as fast as she could and reject any dumb idea her stepdad (and sometimes even her mom) comes up with and then leave.

There was a time she stayed and asked them why wouldn’t they just try to set up her stepbrother with some rich girl since he was useless but her mother shut her down and the conversation ended as it started.   
  


Today wouldn’t be different. She followed her stepbrother to their car and he drove them to the restaurant where they were going to have lunch. As they entered, she gave her name to the lady in the reception and they were immediately guided to their table. Her mother was already there, dressed up in her expensive dress and jewels. 

_Does she expect me to just follow her steps and marry some rich man so I can live like her?_ She would lie if she said she never regretted her choice. At that time, she was tired of her parents fighting every now and then. They were struggling financially but her father wanted to take a risk and start his own business. He wanted to quit his job, the only income they had. Her mother was so against it, until the point of asking for a divorce. She was so tired of living like that so when her mother asked her and her sister Dalmi to choose, she chose her mom. 

And she could see the betrayal in Dalmi’s eyes. But why? She wanted a better future. She wanted to have the option of studying without worrying about tuition fees, to eat without worrying about the possibility of not having food the next time. 

She was selfish. That’s what Dalmi told her. But months later, her mother married a rich man that gave her the financial stability she wanted. She could have the things she always wanted. Or that’s what she thought. When she finally had everything, she realised that maybe she was wrong. She had no worries now but why did she still feel empty? Why didn’t she feel happiness? She realised that what she longed for was not wealth but the love of their family that disappeared under their problems. But she was late. The love she wanted was long gone. She sometimes regretted her choices but she decided that she would learn from their mistakes and work hard to earn what they lacked. 

She may have regretted things but it seemed like her mother didn’t. She didn't greet her, busy checking her phone and so Injae just sat down in front of her mother and checked her Instagram account, just scrolling past her timeline and liking random posts. Her stepdad got there not too much later and then they started ordering their food. It didn’t take too long for the table to be filled with different delicious dishes.

Her stepdad had the decency of asking her about the meeting she had this morning. Remembering it’s success, she gladly answered him, telling him the progress of their project. Obviously she didn’t expect him to be proud of her so when he gave her a quick acknowledgement and changed the subject to THE topic, she only sighed and started munching her food.

“So you know this incredible genius investor everybody talks about nowadays. I met him this morning and he actually told me he saw you at the party at Park’s.”

He paused for a moment, shifting his eyes from his steak to see Injae’s reaction. She didn’t show any and just continued eating. “He told me he is interested in meeting you. You're almost 26. You should start thinking about marriage.” 

Injae choked on her drink and turned her big eyes towards her stepdad. He wasn’t joking. He was showing her mom pics of their new target and she could only roll her eyes, not even caring about looking at the pictures her stepdad tried to show her.

“You know I’m busy with the new project. I don’t even have time to sleep some days. Dating and marrying are by far any of my concerns right now.” She tried to dismiss the topic with rather lame excuses.

“Just meet him this time and I’ll stop introducing you new people. You only have to go and have lunch with him.” It may sound like he’s asking her a favour but his tone was firm and it almost sounded like he was getting impatient.

“It’s not like you’ll be wasting your time. Everybody needs to have lunch, right father?” Her stepbrother added, looking at her with a smirk. If her eyes could shoot daggers, he would be already hanging on the wall behind him. 

She ate the last pieces of meat that were left on her plate and drank the rest of her drink at once. “Fine.” She said while standing up and getting her purse. “Send me the details. And remember you promised. I won’t be having anyone else introduced to me after this.” And so, she left the restaurant.

  
Days passed by peacefully until the blind date day arrived. Injae’s morning had been quite hectic. She tried to finish all the work she could since she was going to waste her noon dating. They were going to meet at a new restaurant that opened recently. Her stepdad warned her time and time again to behave and to not disappoint him. “This is a very important date, you have to impress him, okay?” 

She couldn’t care less. She wore a white blouse-like dress, not too formal, not too special, perfect for the summer heat. She also let her hair down and put on just a tiny bit of make-up. She had been overworking lately and sure the opinion of some random man wasn’t important. It had more to do with respect. Not even the clingiest suitor deserved to see her showing up zombie-like. It took her no longer than 20 minutes to prepare herself before calling her stepbrother to drive her to the restaurant.

Injae was meeting her partner around 13:00 but she arrived earlier. Checking her phone and Google maps, she facepalmed mentally when she realised the time she thought they would need to get there was the one using public transport. They only needed half the time by car.

She closed her eyes in frustration and inhaled deeply. The sun rays burned on her skin as if making fun of her mistake. The streets were full of people enjoying their lunch time, chit-chatting and laughing while she was standing there alone. Things couldn’t go worse, could they? What was she going to do being there 15 minutes earlier? 

She looked around to see if by any chance he could have also arrived earlier. Looking at her left side, there were people queuing to enter the restaurant where she was meeting her date. And then looking at her right side, she saw a man, as lonely as her. He was tall and well-built, with dark black hair. He was wearing black pants and a white shirt under a thin white jacket. His brows were furrowed, checking the time in his watch. She knew him, or at least she heard people talk about him.   
  
  


He was Han Jipyeong. Everybody in the business world knew about him. _A young man who started investing in different companies and never failed to find the best results. He was very critical while choosing his next partner, giving the best advice to them, sometimes harsh but still useful words._

He seemed to be flustered, scratching his nape lightly. Was him her date? She couldn’t imagine him wanting to meet her. She started approaching him slowly, still unsure. Injae’s step dad sure mentioned him being a genius investor, but she didn’t pay attention when he was showing his pictures. Did he mention his name? Lacking sleep, her memory was failing. 

“Han JiPyeong-ssi?” His name slipped through her lips, its sound so foreign to her. Hearing her, his gaze shifted, placing it on her small figure, looking at her slightly confused. Maybe he didn’t expect her to be there so early. Or maybe he wasn’t the one she was looking for. She started feeling unsure and then he spoke.

“Won InJae-ssi?” His eyes scanned her very quickly. She couldn’t read his expression. Maybe she put too little effort before coming. She smiled shyly.

“You came here early.” She said carefully. Her worries disappeared when he showed her a big smile and laughed a bit awkwardly. “The same goes for you, I guess.” A chuckle escaped her lips. She was caught off guard by his response. 

“Since we are already here, why don’t we start queuing? I didn’t know so many people were going to come.” Behind her, the queue only got longer during that short time. She was not used to queuing and waiting to enter any place but she also never dated before, so maybe it was a couple/romantic thing to do, to help blind dates feel less awkward. She just nodded and let him guide her.   
  


  
They stood at the end of the line. She tried to count how many people were there before them but she quickly stopped. The sun was shining even brighter now, it was getting difficult to even open her eyes. She tried covering her eyes with her hands when JiPyeong moved to her left side. She looked at him a bit confused as he kept on moving slightly from left to right, looking at her a bit absently. When he stopped, a small smile appeared in his face as if he had finally achieved something, like a small kid. She realized she was able to open her eyes easily now and then it hit her. He was shading her from the sun. She couldn’t help but smile. That was so nice.

“Thank you JiPyeong-ssi.” She said sincerely and she felt something warm inside her. Maybe it wasn’t so bad to meet new people. He only smiled at her words.

“Did you have a nice day?” He asked her next. Maybe it was because she was tired or maybe it was the way it sounded as if he really was curious about it, as if he cared. She couldn’t answer him back right away but then she told him about her morning. Her project was still on-going and there were new projects being brought up. She then asked about his morning and he talked about work he finished in advance, since he had something important next week.

It was easy to talk to him and InJae was surprisingly enjoying the little time they were spending together. She wasn’t sure about any kind of romantic development they could have but she was sure that starting a friendship with him couldn’t be bad.

Their talk continued on for another 10 minutes and at the same time, the queue got shorter. There was only one couple left before it was their turn. Everything was going perfectly, maybe too much.

InJae took out her phone to check the time but then she saw the missed calls from her stepdad. She sighed knowing he probably wanted to make sure again she didn’t ruin her date. She excused herself to call him just to make sure everything was fine when she suddenly received two more messages.

(12:56) _InJae-ya, oppa will be there in 5 minutes._

(12:56) _Are you there already?_

“What on earth…?” InJae whispered. Before she could even process any kind of information, a third message arrived.

(12:57) _Oh right, I’m Daniel-oppa, your father gave me your number hahaha ;P_

Injae’s mind went blank for a second as well as her expression.

Did she just… 

  
  


meet the wrong partner? 

  
  


Absolutely yes. 

Flashbacks of the last 15 minutes filled her, just like a movie on rewind. She sure didn’t know who she was going to meet so why did she not suspect there was a mistake? More importantly, WHY didn’t she even bother asking her father or even JiPyeong for confirmation? 

“Is everything okay?”

JiPyeong’s voice startled her, making her jump a little bit. She turned around slowly and saw him looking at her with a mix of concern and confusion. Heat started to crawl over her face and ears.

What was she going to do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!  
> How did you like this chapter? I hope you have enjoyed it so far.  
> Would you like to know the other side of this story?
> 
> I would love to read your opinion ❤️❤️❤️  
> See you in the next chapter. Stay safe!


	2. Our 15 minutes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> About how JiPyeong ended up in a blind date and met the wrong partner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be a “JiPyeong’s side of the story” chapter but I wanted to set up his backstory and it ended up doubling the words of the first chapter, so It’s pretty long 😅
> 
> Please, enjoy the reading ❤️

Summer is the season of warmth. It’s the season in which days grow longer and nights grow shorter. People’s laughter fills the streets as they spend their time with their loved ones. No school, no work, just summer trips, swimming pools and beaches.

Sadly, this doesn’t apply to Han JiPyeong. This man is a well-known investor, famous for his success at a young age. All the wealth he possesses was gained from scratch, from his hard-work. And that’s why, on this hot summer day, he’s in his office, reviewing new start-ups that were asking for his funding. He flipped through several folders that were piled up on his desk before rejecting most of them and leaving a few on a side to review later that day. By the time he finished, it was already lunch time. He checked his phone to see if there were any messages from his friend but none showed up. Taking his jacket, he left his office.

  
He arrived at a coffee shop nearby. His friend worked there and they would have lunch together. It was almost like a daily routine, but today he got there later than usual. He scanned the area looking for her and there she was, sitting all alone, already eating a sandwich.

“Yah, Seo Dalmi! Did you already start eating without me?” He said while he tapped her shoulder to get her attention, acting as if he was really offended.

“What? You didn’t even call me nor text me, how would I know If you were coming? I was starving.” She played along, putting on a pouty face but then she smiled at him. “Just sit and order your food, my shift will start in 20 minutes.”

JiPyeong did as she said and just ordered the same thing she was having. They chatted cheerfully and talked about their morning. Her morning. She has been training new workers that recently joined, pride in her voice as she was just like them some time ago. Dalmi was also very hard-working, easily getting the recognition and trust she deserved to handle the newbies. She was so energetic and bright. He let her talk non-stop about the things she had to teach, the sales she got, and much more. There were only 5 minutes left when she realized he hadn’t told her about his day but he quickly calmed her down. 

“It’s just the usual things, you know? Nothing interesting happened.” He got up and sent her a reassuring smile before checking his phone. “Oops, I have to leave. See you later.” He walked away leaving Dalmi alone. She finished what was left of her soda and buried her face in her hands.

“Ugh, Seo Dalmi, you and your over-excitement...” She just sighed and started cleaning up the table. Just when she finished, she felt a strong tug and someone started screaming in her ears.

“O-M-G, Dalmi-ya, who was that handsome man right now? Was that your boyfriend? Are you two dating?” 

“Jipyeong and me??? What? No!!” A flustered Dalmi answered even before seeing who she was talking with. It was her co-worker and also her long-time friend, JaeYi.

“Is that so? How did you get to know each other?” Dalmi could see excitement in her friend’s eyes and knew what was coming. “Can you introduce me to him? Set me up on a blind date, pleeeease!” JaeYi asked Dalmi with puppy eyes, the eyes she knew Dalmi couldn’t reject.

  
It was a long time ago, 10 years exactly, when they first met in front of a corn dog shop owned by Dalmi’s grandmother. At that time, Dalmi didn’t pay too much attention to him, as she was having her own problems. Her parents had been fighting so much more lately to the point of mentioning divorce. Her mother kept on rambling about how they needed money for tuition fees, food, school trips… but she really was heart-broken when she saw the beating her father received. Her father was tired of that and he believed he could start his own business, and just like him, Dalmi believed too, choosing him when her mother asked her and her sister InJae. But InJae didn’t.

Dalmi felt betrayed by her sister. And probably those emotions showed. Betrayal, sadness, loneliness…

  
At the same time, Han JiPyeong met Dalmi’s grandmother and being an orphan who was recently kicked out of the orphanage, he felt warmth for the first time. He started living with Halmeoni and used her bank account to start earning money trading stocks. As a favor Halmeoni asked for, he helped her write letters to Dalmi, to comfort her from the miserable things that were happening in her life.

And so, they started writing to each other during a whole year. 

  
But happiness could only last so long. InJae was moving to the states with her recently re-married mother and her stepdad. And not later that day, Dalmi’s father passed away. Jipyeong decided he finally was ready to move out but because of many misunderstandings, he parted ways with Halmeoni painfully. 

  
Years passed by and JiPyeong worked hard to get the financial stability he needed so much. 7 years. It was time for him to pay back the kindness of Choi Won Deok, the closest mother-figure he ever had. 

Remembering all those happy moments he lived, he drove to Seonju, easily recognizing the streets that stayed unchanged. Pink flower petals fell slowly, just like warm and colorful snow. 

He parked his car and went straight to the corndog shop. The birdhouse where he exchanged his letters with Dalmi was still here but the shop wasn’t. Instead there was now a beautiful flower shop. He tried swallowing a non-existent lump in his throat, panic filling his mind. _Where was Halmeoni?_

He unconsciously imagined the worst scenarios. _No, that’s not possible. Stay calm._ Jipyeong approached the birdhouse, looking for a clue to the mystery before him. And he found a letter. They moved to Seoul. He just needed to find the corndog shop that had the same name. 

Without wasting time, he looked for them that same day and found them when the sky was already dark. Their reunion was so touching but something was wrong. Dalmi called him Dosan in her last letter and she greeted him the same way. It seemed like Halmeoni never told her the truth.

Feeling guilty, he talked with Halmeoni. Their lie lasted for too long. Finally with all the courage they could muster up, they told Dalmi the truth and apologized. 

  
Dalmi was obviously hurt and felt embarrassed, not talking with her grandma and sending hurt and angry glares at JiPyeong whenever he came by. But she slowly stopped to think about every reason behind their actions and the comfort and support she received through those letters, as she finally let go of her anger. She forgave her grandma quickly but was still awkward with JiPyeong. 

They turned their awkwardness into silly banters and small talks and just like before, they started feeling comfortable with each other and slowly but surely, they became good friends.

  
During those last 3 years until the present day, Dalmi still felt a little something for him (a crush, basically) and that’s the main reason she felt reluctant to introduce JaeYi to JiPyeong. 

“I’m back!” Dalmi took off her shoes and wore her slippers. She dropped her bag and hung her jacket. Home sweet home. 

“How was your day?” Asked Halmeoni from the kitchen. She was preparing dinner.

“I don’t know... Tired?” Dalmi was now by her side and helped her setting the table. 

They had a light dinner, enjoying the food in silence. Something was bothering Dalmi and Halmeoni could easily read her. They finished not too much later and did the dishes together. When the last dish was cleaned and dried, Dalmi finally let out a sigh and the thing that has been living rent free in her mind that afternoon.

“Can you believe JaeYi asked me to introduce her to JiPyeong?” 

“WHAT? Then what did you do?” Her grandma stopped everything she was doing, now looking at Dalmi with big round eyes. 

“I- I still haven’t talked to JiPyeong…” Dalmi was a bit unsure about Halmeoni’s reaction. She was expecting her to be against the idea. Was she… supporting JiPyeong meeting JaeYi? Why did she even feel that pang in her chest?

“Then what are you doing, you silly girl!? Go! Hurry up and talk to him. Oh, my Good boy has everything, the money, the looks, and the brains but he’s almost 30 and still 0 girlfriends!” 

  
Dalmi silently retreated to her room, leaving her grandma ranting about her lonely Good Boy. She closed the door behind her and let her body fall on her bed. 

Yeah, her grandma used to tell her to find boyfriends instead of thinking about “Dosan” but after they stopped the lie, she continuously denied her feelings for JiPyeong, and whenever her grandma would say something about dating, she would just run away. She was still confused about her own feelings. Was it love? Was it only friendship? Because of her many rejections, Halmeoni finally moved on.

Flipping on her side, she dialed JiPyeong’s number and waited for him to answer.

  
JiPyeong came back home after a long day in his office. After having lunch with Dalmi, DongCheon sent him a message. In two weeks, it was going to be Demo Day at Sandbox. Many start-ups were going to compete against each other to get the funding they needed to continue with their projects. He was asked to join to help select the best start-up and give advice and criticism to those who didn’t make it. He would need to clear his schedule for that week. 

That’s why he got home so late. He took off his jacket and loosened his tie, finally breathing comfortably. It was already past his normal dinner time so his stomach grumbled loudly. When he opened his fridge, he let out a sarcastic laugh. Looking at its state, nobody would believe he earned millions and millions per year. His stomach made a sound again, complaining about the lack of food. 

Stress was starting to surface and so he decided he was going to call for take out tteokbokki. Spicy food was the best stress-reliever. Satisfied with his decision, he called and then went to take a quick shower. He has been living his life to its fullest. After leaving Halmeoni, he had to survive on his own. All those years taught him the best ways to relax. 

  
The moment he came out of the bathroom, his phone started ringing. His hair was still wet, but he took the call anyway. It was summer, right? It will dry naturally. 

“How can I help you at this hour, Ms. Seo?” He was tired but it was nice to have someone to talk about. 

“How was _your_ day? Did you eat yet?” He heard Dalmi ask with concern in her voice. Maybe she felt guilty for not letting him speak during lunch. 

“Fine, a bit stressed, I guess. I’m having tteokbokki for dinner.” 

Dalmi didn’t answer immediately. JiPyeong poured himself a glass of water while she mumbled something at the other side of the phone.

“Ah… I see…”

It felt like she was thinking about what to say next. Her next words catched JiPyeong by surprise.

“Have you ever thought about going on a blind date?” 

He couldn’t avoid but spit out the water he just drank, coughing a little bit. Was he that tired that he hallucinated?

“Omg I think I’m too tired… You didn’t say that, right?” JiPyeong got the mop and started drying the water from the floor.

“This friend of mine wants to meet you. She saw you today at the coffee shop and I guess she found you attractive. Are you free next week?”

“I don’t know if this is a good idea, Dalmi-ya…”

Jipyeong closed his eyes, rubbing his temples. This wasn’t the first time someone told him to date. At first, he would refuse because he thought it was a waste of time and money. It would be also emotionally draining to be attached to someone. But now, he was considered one of the most successful men around his age. Even if he considered himself to be in a relationship with his work, he knew he could spare some time being happy with someone else. Maybe he was just scared about the dark sides of getting into something serious as a love relationship. What if he found love and started something with someone only to be dumped later? Would people actually want an orphan to be their partner? How would he know if that other person wanted to be with him for who he was and not because of his money?

“Give it a try~~ Halmeoni also supports this idea! And my friend is lovely. Her name is Won Jae-“

The bell rang at that moment, interrupting Dalmi just when she was talking about her friend. Forgetting he was on a call, he threw his mobile on the couch and almost ran to open the door so he could get his dinner. He was pretty famished. After paying the delivery boy and thanking him for bringing his food, he closed the door behind him, going back to get his phone.

  
“Yah! Han JiPyeong! Are you still listening?” He could hear Dalmi’s shouts through the small speaker. He put the food on the table and got a fork. 

“Hahahaha sorry, I had to get my dinner. You were talking about your friend, right? So how am I going to know who she is?” At the mention of Halmeoni, JiPyeong decided to give it a try. He had a soft spot for her and he was also forever indebted with her, so whatever she wanted, he would get it for her, even trying something new and awkward.

Dalmi accepted his apology and started describing her JaeYi.

“You see, she’s more or less as tall as me, she has long black hair and round eyes. Oh, and she also has pretty dimples when she smiles! You aren’t supposed to know this but she told me already what she’s going to wear. She said it was going to be a white dress, so maybe try wearing white as well. You know, you look good wearing white.”

JiPyeong listened to Dalmi talk over the phone while he munched on some tteok. He tried to remember all the details she told him. 

“She also told me about a restaurant that’s going to open this week. She wanted to go there. You know, the one in front of Sangsu station.”

JiPyeong had almost finished eating. “Yeah, I think I know. Will she be free next Thursday?”

“She’s free when you are. So next Thursday is it? Meet her at the restaurant at 13:00, okay? And remember to behave, Han JiPyeong, she’s my friend.”

JiPyeong snorted at her using that tone on him. Nobody would tell out she was the younger one. “Yeah, Ms Seo, I’ve got it.” 

Dalmi also laughed at his antics. “I’m going to sleep. Don’t overwork yourself, okay? Good night”

Jipyeong just nodded to himself. “Good night.”

He finished cleaning up the table and decided to call it a day. It wasn’t something he usually would do, but today he ate tteokbokki, he spilled water and got himself on a blind date. One more thing on the “out of comfort zone” list wouldn’t harm anyone.

  
The day of the blind date arrived. JiPyeong woke up very energetic that morning. Since he wouldn’t have time to go back home to change, he wore the outfit he prepared the day before for the date. A plain white shirt with black dressing pants. He also wore a white thin jacket to complete the look. He combed his hair as he usually does, leaving some strands loose forming a “comma” on his forehead. 

Since he decided to go ahead with the dating plan, he reorganized all his schedule to finish everything on time. He had been busy this last week but at least nothing would go wrong.   
  


He got early to his office but since he was going to spend his noon dating, he might as well try finishing today’s job early. His morning was going smoothly, except for all the whispers that were filling the room. Whenever he lifted his head, silence would suddenly fall and his co-workers would pretend to be concentrated doing their things. Oblivious to the reason for their behaviour, he kept working until 12:30. 

That’s when DongCheon came to leave yet another folder on his desk. He waited for DongCheon to leave after that but he was still lingering around, glancing at him.

“Is there something wrong?” JiPyeong asked, now feeling curious.

“You are all dressed up today…” said DongCheon, with a playful smile.

“Oh… I’m going on a blind date.” JiPyeong let out this information nonchalantly, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. But it wasn’t. Or at least, for the people in his office. The playful smile left DongCheon’s face, replaced by surprise.

“...a blind date?”

“Yes.”

“When are you meeting your date?” 

“Around 13:00…? Why are you-”

Before JiPyeong could finish his sentence, DongCheon was already pulling his chair out of the desk and then he ran to get JiPyeong’s coat and helped him put it on.

“What are you still doing here??? You shouldn’t be late to your first date, Manager Han.” JiPyeong was pushed towards the door still processing the situation.

“Have a nice date, we hope to get the best news from you.” And just when he was about to say something, anything, DongCheon slammed the door in his face. 

  
And so, JiPyeong was in front of the restaurant where he would meet his date 15 minutes earlier. There was already a long queue forming but it would be too out of place to start queuing alone, right? 

_If it wasn’t for this idiot Park_ _DongCheon…_ He could only sigh and try to relax his furrowed brows as much as possible. He couldn't ruin his image over this trivial thing. 

He checked his watch again, but the time was still the same. He scratched his nape lightly, now feeling a bit flustered. 

What was he going to do with these extra 15 minutes?  
  


“Han JiPyeong-ssi?”  
  


At the sound of his name, he turned around, meeting the eyes of someone he knew. She was Won InJae. _Step-daughter of Won DooJung, she was known to be a very intelligent and beautiful woman who also recently started working in her step-dad’s company. The list of her achievements was very long for such a young person. Many would attribute them to her parental figure but her strong personality and confidence could tell you otherwise._

JiPyeong remembered seeing her at the party of Mr. Park, full of elegance, easily discussing business topics with important people of that world. Her step-dad was actually very loud that time, showing her off and introducing her to many more guests. She left a small impression on him but he quickly forgot about her. He didn’t expect to cross paths with her anytime soon. But he did. 

  
“Won InJae-ssi?”

Was she the date Dalmi talked about? They were friends??? Why would she be at that coffee shop that day? His memory failed him when he tried to recall the conversation he had with Dalmi. She did mention her name some time during their conversation. Her surname was surely Won and he did hear “Jae”. He should have paid more attention but the tteokbokki won that night.

Confussion was all over his mind as his eyes quickly scanned her. She was just as tall as Dalmi, maybe a bit taller because of her heels. Her face was crowned by cute see-through side bangs and her hair was long and dark, its end hidden behind her small back. She was wearing a blouse-like medium-length white dress, a mix of casual and elegant. 

When she heard him say her name, she slowly showed him a shy smile, and then, there they were, the dimples Dalmi mentioned. They were indeed pretty. 

“You came here early.” 

That was the last puzzle piece he needed to believe she was his date and so he finally smiled, relief replacing his nervousness, letting out an awkward laugh. 

“The same goes for you, I guess.” 

The chuckle that escaped her lips almost felt satisfying. “Ice queen” was a nickname some people in the industry gave her because of her coldness and how difficult it was approaching her. But there she was smiling at him and even laughing at his awkward behaviour. 

  
He suggested getting in line since they were already there. There were so many people waiting to enter that restaurant! She was also amused by that and he could see her trying to count the people in front of them, getting a bit out of the line. It seemed like her mission failed, as she came back to his side and just squeezed her eyes.

JiPyeong watched her cautiously and then smoothly, he moved to her left side, swinging a bit his broad shoulder looking for the best angle to shade her from the sun. When he finally covered the last spot of light from her little face, he stayed still and smiled to himself, feeling proud when she stopped frowning. Then her big eyes stopped on him and at the realization she showed him another dimpled smile, this time accompanied by crescent moon eyes and thanked him.

JiPyeong automatically smiled back at her and that moment he knew that he would enjoy this date. 

He then asked her about her morning. He was actually starting to feel more curious about her. And he genuinely felt like he wanted their conversation to keep on flowing. But when she didn’t answer right away, he started to feel unsure. Maybe he was too direct. Or maybe not. She looked back at him and smiled answering him.

“It was pretty hectic since I’ve been working on a long project and just recently it started showing its results. But still I had a good morning. What about you?” 

“Oh, same. I have an event to assist next week, so these days have been pretty stressful. This morning I had to finish some work I had for today but thanks to that, my schedule is now clear and I’m here with you much more relaxed hahaha.”

InJae looked at him with a flustered face but JiPyeong didn’t realize the effect of his words, completely oblivious of the sudden blush on her cheeks.

They continued talking for the next 10 minutes, just like old friends catching up after a long time not meeting. They felt comfortable with each other at a surprising level. They talked about the weather, and about the food they were going to order, about their preferences on spiciness and if they preferred coffee or tea. 

Jipyeong was glad he let Dalmi convince him.

There was only a couple left before them when InJae took out her phone. He saw glimpses of notifications and missed phone calls. 

She excused herself and turned around. He started to feel worried. It was only a feeling. Something was about to go wrong. 

“What on earth…?” She could hear InJae whisper under her breath, feeling her tensing up beside him.

“Is everything okay?” Jipyeong asked her, placing his hand on her shoulder to get her attention.

She turned around to look at him and then he also received a message. This time, he excused himself and turned on his phone to see if it was something important. Dalmi’s name popped on the screen.

  
(12:59) _JaeYi is almost there, where are you?_

(12:59) _Ugh, I should have given you her phone number. I feel like a third-wheel :(((_

(13:00) _Anyway, don’t forget to smile! I hope your date goes well ^^_

  
He froze in his place after reading the messages, trying to understand the situation he was in.

  
Did he maybe meet the wrong girl? 

  
Yes, he did. 

  
He closed his eyes and pinched his cheeks, and then looked at those messages again.

  
They were still there.

He felt his ears turning red and he suddenly didn’t know what to do with his hands. 

He was embarrassed. 

How on Earth do you end up in this kind of mess? How would he explain Dalmi he totally ignored a big part of the information she was giving him? What was he going to do now? 

  
He inhaled deeply and turned around. And then he met her eyes, just like some moments ago, when they met for the first time. But this time he saw something different in her eyes. It was the same feeling as he had right now. Her cheeks were now in a light shade of pink and she opened and closed her mouth twice, without saying anything, maybe not sure how to deal with this almost comical moment. 

Yeah, she was embarrassed as well. 

  
Such a nice way to start a blind date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The real blind dates will start on the next chapter 👀  
> I wonder what’s going to happen 🤔  
> . . .
> 
> Some side notes:  
> \- I’ll be using both Halmeoni and grandma/grandmother, depending on the POV. Sorry if it is confusing.  
> -Daniel and Won JaeYi are both made up. I just wanted random names and one that sounded like Won InJae lol
> 
> . . .
> 
> I want to thank everyone who left kudos, comments or just spend their time reading my first chapter.  
> I’m also thankful to those who liked my story enough to share it on Twitter.  
> I’ll keep doing my best ❤️❤️❤️


	3. Should have...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things they did and things they didn’t...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another long chapter here but I believe it will be worth the reading 🙈🥰  
> I hope you can enjoy it ❤️

An uncomfortable silence fell upon them as they looked at each other. Their staring contest only lasted seconds but it felt like an eternity. They needed to say something, anything to clear up this misunderstanding. But when Jipyeong was just about to talk, their awkward moment was interrupted by someone calling his name.

“Jipyeong-ssi!” When he turned around, he saw a young woman approaching them. She was a bit shorter than Dalmi, with long dark hair. And when she smiled at him, her dimples showed. She was wearing a beautiful white dress, thin straps on her shoulder, with flower patterns at the end of the skirt. She matched Dalmi’s description.   
  


So she was his date.

“I’m Won Jaeyi, it is so nice to finally meet you.” Dalmi’s voice came to his mind, too late now, telling him her friend’s name. 

As soon as she got by his side, however, he remembered that he wasn’t alone. In fact, he was at the queue of a restaurant waiting for his blind date partner… with another woman. 

Jaeyi’s eyes shifted from Jipyeong to Injae, slightly confused. 

Panic could be seen in Jipyeong’s eyes. He needed to find an excuse but at the same time, something inside him felt reluctant to leave Injae. Not without talking out about what happened. But he also couldn’t betray Dalmi.  
Injae saw the internal conflict in Jipyeong and decided to step in to save him from a more embarrassing moment. She took out her phone and turned it on, looking at the screen.

“Well, it seems like my companion just arrived. It was nice meeting you out there Manager Han. I hope you have a nice date.” She purposely whispered the last sentence but made it loud enough for his partner to hear it, and then she elbowed him, sending him a wink, pretending to be teasing him and left with a small bow. 

Jipyeong felt heat invading his face, not sure if it was because of the sun, because of how cool Injae looked handling the situation, because of her wink or because of the playful tone she used to tease him or maybe because of everything altogether. He saw how Jaeyi was also blushing. She bought Injae’s act. If he didn’t know she was a very capable and successful business woman, she could easily pass as an actress.

When Jaeyi turned her attention back at him, he tried to use the help Injae lent him and explain the situation. 

“Oh, she’s just a colleague from the company where I work. It just happened that she was also meeting someone there today.” He showed her a lowkey forced smile, trying to be as natural as possible. “It’s my pleasure to meet you.” 

She blushed harder this time, letting out a high pitched laugh. Cupping her face like a typical manga heroine, she smiled shyly.

“Is that so? Aww we could have had a double date.” 

Jipyeong choked a bit at her response but couldn’t answer her. The previous couple already entered the restaurant and it was their turn. He took the chance to change the topic, as they were going to leave the streets behind. 

When they were just about to enter, he felt someone staring at him. It was a waitress that had been checking the queue. She was looking at him and then at his partner, and then back at him with an unbelieving look. She probably saw him with InJae some moments ago. 

  
  


_Oh…_

_Omg… Please, don’t judge me._

_It's a bit complicated._

  
  


He followed Jaeyi inside, trying to ignore that waitress’ glare. 

The inside of the restaurant was pretty big, with dim lights, mainly illuminated by the sun rays that entered from the large windows. All the tables were full with couples enjoying their food, the sound of wine glasses clinking mixed with their laughter. Further from them was the VIP area. Unlike the most visible part of the restaurant, it was quiet, its tables more separated from each other and with barely customers right now.  
They got a table in the regular area, behind a column, decorated by falling flowers. It gave an isolated feeling, perfect for a romantic lunch, since it would be only them. 

Jipyeong helped Jaeyi out of her jacket and then sat in front of her. They took a look at the menu card. There was a great variety of dishes accompanied by colorful pictures in it. It made ordering a difficult mission but their hunger helped them.

“So… how did you and Dalmi meet?” Jipyeong tried asking first. 

“Oh, we went to the same high school and then we were about to enter the same college but Dalmi dropped out, you know?” 

Their food arrived, Parmesan risotto with roasted shrimps for Jaeyi and Shrimp pasta with white wine sauce for Jipyeong. The food looked amazing, and its smell shocked Jipyeong. It must taste delicious! After thanking the waiter, Jaeyi kept talking while they started eating.

“She told me about her grandma’s decision and then why she dropped out. Since I worked part-time in a coffee shop, I just introduced her to my boss and since then we’ve been working together.” 

He knew a bit about Dalmi’s struggle because of their financial problems. The money he earned by using Halmeoni’s account could have helped Dalmi get into college and study. But things didn’t turn out that way. It still haunts him until this day. He felt reassured knowing that at least she had a friend looking out for her. 

“And what about you? How do you know Dalmi?” Jaeyi then asked him.

He proceeds to tell her about them being something like childhood friends who lost each other’s contact but found each other some years later. He recalled those memories fondly. He gained a family thanks to them.

As they finished their food, he yet again helped her into her jacket and paid the bill. After sending her off, with a “I hope we can meet again” from her, he finally let out a deep sigh. He did enjoy her company and it had been a pleasant lunch. However, he didn’t feel any kind of excitement. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to meet her again as on a date. There was something lacking… Unlike him, Jaeyi seemed to have loved their date. She was happy and he behaved, so he fulfilled Dalmi’s request.

At the thought of Dalmi, he reached for his pocket to get his phone and call her but his phone wasn’t there.

  
Injae’s date was 10 minutes late at the end. He brought her some flowers, as an apology. When they got to the restaurant, they didn’t need to queue since it seemed like her father already got them a table in advance.  
When they got in, they were seated in the VIP area. Their table was bigger than others and further from them. She usually would prefer VIP areas to stay away from the noisy environment but today it felt really uncomfortable. 

Before seating, Injae scanned the room, unknowingly looking for her wrong-date. He was nowhere to be seen. She kinda felt a bit sad. 

After seating, Daniel ordered both their food, the most expensive ones from the menu card and the best wine he could find.

“Have I told you how pretty you are?” Daniel told her, examining her, slowing down in certain places. When his gaze turned back on her eyes, she just showed him a polite smile, biting her tongue before she told him what she thought about him.

When their food arrived, he eyed the waitress the same way he did with her, not even hiding it or pretending. What were her parents trying to do in pairing her with this dude? She started eating her food, wishing she could finish this lunch quickly.

“You are eating so well, Injae-ya~. It makes oppa feel full by only watching you~” Injae almost spit out the food at his cringy words. She just looked at him, maybe disgust showing in her facial expression.

“Oh, you don’t mind if I talk with you casually, right?” It was about time he asked. If he had been like a normal person, he would have asked from the beginning. Daniel was about to take a sip from his wine glass when InJae finally talked.

“I actually do.” She said nonchalantly, with a tidbit of annoyance in her voice. 

He didn’t expect her to answer him like that. She could see his pride being hurt by her and she actually enjoyed it. Serves him right. He cleared his throat and took a big gulp of his wine, finishing it at once. 

They continued eating in silence, only his voice breaking it whenever he asked for his glass to be refilled. 

“You know what, Injae-ya, you should try to get used to me talking with you like this. Since we are going to meet more frequently.”

She looked at him with confused eyes, not sure what he was talking about.

“Why would that happen?” Her voice came out more defiantly than she intended. 

“I mean, it’s only right if we end up marrying each other.” Seeing Injae glaring at him he kept talking. “You know I’m a great and well-known investor. I can help you in this harsh business world. You are only a beautiful woman but with my help, you could go so much further.” 

Injae was speechless. Not because she didn’t know what to say but because of all the things she wanted to tell him to shut his repulsive mouth. 

“Who would want to marry someone like _you_?” The way she said “you” was almost as if it made her feel nauseous by just thinking about him.

He laughed bitterly before looking at her again.

“Didn’t your parents teach you how to talk with respect? You better shut up if you don’t know your place.” His tone sounded like a threat but she wasn’t intimidated by him.

“Is that how you got your title as a genius investor, by using others' “help”? Pathetic…”

Seeing how Daniel’s face turned into an offended one, she just smirked and took her wine glass, just about to drink. In that moment, Daniel stood up and grabbed her wrist with so much force that her wine glass slipped through her fingers, crashing with a loud sound on the floor. 

The noise drew the attention of a few workers. Seeing the glass on the floor, they hurried to get something to remove them, not getting near the scene since they were also feeling the tension of the situation and afraid of meddling with their VIP customers.

Droplets of wine fell on her white dress leaving a big red stain but her eyes never left his. Her hand was shaking in his tight grip, against her will. 

“Are you now looking down on me? I told you to shut your pretty mouth, didn’t I?” His breath fanned against her skin, the wine scent now wrapping her. His grip only strengthened, making her wince at the pain she was starting to feel. 

“Let me go, you scumbag”. Those words left her lips like poison, trying to hide the growing fear she was feeling. She grabbed her purse with her left hand, ready to hit him in case the worst scenario happened.

But the moment Daniel heard her, he lifted his right hand, his eyes now full of rage.

She closed her eyes reflexively, expecting the impact of his hand on her face, but it never came. Instead she heard him letting out a cry and then her hand was free. 

When she opened her eyes, she saw Daniel’s face full of pain and his arm bent on his back. Han Jipyeong was holding him, face unreadable. He then turned his face to her and his expression changed to one of worry. Leaving his grip, he took off his jacket while approaching her and gently put it on her shoulders. His eyes carefully scanned her face, looking for any kind of injury and then held her hand softly and took her out of the restaurant. 

Injae just followed him, still a bit shocked, her heart beating like crazy in her chest from all the adrenaline. She only stopped holding her breath when they stepped out of that place, relief replacing her anxiety.

The sun of the noon shone on them, and the buzzing of the city filled her ears. It was hotter than before but her hands were cold. At least, one of them since the other one was wrapped by Jipyeong’s, and his hand was warm. 

He slowed down his pace but didn’t let go of her hand, walking towards the parking lot of the restaurant. They stopped by a black Mercedes car and he took out the keys. He finally unwrapped his hands off hers to open the door of the passenger seat. 

“I’ll take you home.” He said looking at her in the eyes for the first time after their awkward partner-exchanging moment. His voice was so soft when he said that, melting something inside Injae.

“It’s okay, I can call my driver.” Injae looked away, feeling nervous for some reasons she didn’t know. 

Analysing her reaction, he slowly placed a smile on his face. “But I can’t leave you alone in this state and I don’t have anything to do right now.” 

Feeling a bit self-conscious, she decided to accept his offer. Jipyeong placed his hand between the car roof and her head out of reflex while she entered his car. He closed the door behind her and entered on the other side. 

“So… what’s your address?” He asked while turning on the engine and the GPS. She told him and after that, they stayed silent for a while.

“Didn’t you leave? I- I mean, I thought you left. I didn’t see you when we got there. And I don’t remember seeing you leaving.” She was really curious so she asked, trying to make things less awkward but as her words came out, she realized it sounded a bit stalker-ish. 

“Were you keeping an eye on me? Hahahaha” Jipyeong could catch her blushing from the side of his view. “I did leave before when you were still inside, but I left my phone there, so I came back.” 

Another moment of silence reigned the car.

“I could have managed it myself.” Injae wasn’t looking at him, now feeling a bit humiliated, unable to swallow her pride.

Jipyeong turned his head towards her and saw how tensed she was. He couldn’t imagine how scared she may have been, how difficult it must have been for her to muster up her courage and try to defend herself. He relaxed his body against his seat before deciding how to answer her.

“I know. I saw you grabbing your purse. But things could have gone really wrong had you laid your hands on him. He really seemed to not care about being violent in public. Who knows how he would react…”

Jipyeong said in a serious tone. He knew Injae’s family had power and all but Daniel’s had influence, especially in the media, and he also knew he was a big investor in Injae’s company. One wrong step could take away so many efforts she put in it. It could even affect her career overall.

Now it was Injae who stayed silent. Was he too nosy? His grip on the steering wheel tightened. But then Injae talked.

“Thanks. For helping me.” Injae said almost in a whisper, without looking at him. But he heard her clearly. She could see him smile wide at the corner of her eyes. 

“I’m glad I got there on time”. 

She just smiled at his answer and this time, they enjoyed their silence.

  
On their way, Jipyeong stopped the car for a moment. He got out, leaving a puzzled Injae inside. When he came back, he only smiled at her and kept driving.

They finally arrived at their destination. She got out of the car and let the cold afternoon breeze hit her. So much happened in the last hours. 

Jipyeong came to her side and took out a small paper bag from his pocket, handing her the things he bought. Some ointment for her still red and swollen wrist. She accepted them not wanting to turn down his kindness.

“I’ll get going. It was nice meeting you.” Jipyeong smiled at her, showing her his dimples. She returned them back with another smile. “Same here.”

He was just about to leave, turning his back on her when she remembered she was still wearing his jacket. Before she even knew, she unconsciously grabbed the hem of his sleeve. He turned around surprised, meeting her eyes.

“Uhm… your jacket! I need to give it back!”. She blurted those words, releasing his sleeve and about to take off his jackets from her shoulders. He put his hands on hers stopping her from removing it and just smiled at her again.

“Don’t worry, you can give it back to me another day. If I need it, I’ll know where to find it.” He grinned at the wordless Injae and was about to enter his car.

“Hey! What if I’m not here when you are looking for it?” 

Jipyeong paused for a moment to think what she meant but didn’t get it. 

“If that happens… then you can keep it.” 

And he just drove away.   
  


Injae dropped her purse at the entrance of her house and slipped out of her heels. Her feet were starting to feel sore after only those short hours. The door closed behind her with a beep sound and then only silence remained. 

She went to her bedroom and took off Jipyeong’s jacket. Her hands caressed it’s fabric gently, reminding her of all the events that happened that day. It started so nice, and then it went downhill only to be saved at the end. Her lips curved a little bit at the thoughts. Their talk in the car helped her forget all the stress she felt in the restaurant. 

She actually wanted to ask for his phone number with her last question but he seemed to be clueless.

_Or maybe he just wanted to avoid you to prevent another embarrassing incident._

_You didn’t put enough effort, even that Jaeyi girl looked better._

_He was just pitying you._

_You already have so much, don’t be greedy._

  
Injae shook her head trying to get away from those intrusive thoughts. _No self-deprecating thoughts, Injae. He was probably just oblivious and I wasn’t too direct either, it’s my fault. Maybe next time…_

Taking out a hanger out of her closet, she put his jacket on it, giving it a last look before hanging it back. 

Then she went to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was kinda messy, strands stuck on her neck from the cold sweat that covered her skin at the restaurant. The wine stain on her dress was now dry, its colour darker and uglier. She probably won't be able to remove it.  
She took off her clothes and took a shower. While washing her hair, she felt pain on her wrist. She took a mental note to put on the ointment Jipyeong gave her. 

It took her no longer than 15 minutes to finish her shower and another 15 minutes to dry her hair. She changed to some comfortable clothes and walked back to the doorway, to get the ointment.  
After applying it following the instructions, she let her body sink in her soft mattress. She decided to call her office to clear her afternoon schedule, too tired to deal with anything more today. 

Just when she hung up, her phone rang, its screen showing an entry call from her mom. She closed her eyes, frowning, starting to feel a growing headache. She knew what was coming. 

She accepted the call, turning on the speaker and leaving it on the nightstand. 

“What the hell did you do, Won Injae???”

Injae took the phone again, turning down the volume. Her mom sure could scream. 

“I did nothing.”

“Oh, so you did nothing? Then why did Daniel call your father to pull out his investment in our American branch?”

_Oh… what a petty man._

“I just rejected him. Were you really trying to marry off your daughter for some investment?”

“And what about that?? You should have just accepted it. Such an ungrateful brat…Are you going to be responsible for the company in the States?”

Injae bit her lower lip and swallowed down her anger.   
  


“I can take care of it.”  
  


Preparing her luggage, she came across Jipyeong’s jacket. It was still hanging in her closet. After the incident, she sent it to get it cleaned before giving it back to Jipyeong but because of the news of her going to the States, she had been very busy reorganizing schedules and working on finishing as many projects she could before leaving, not being able to drop by SH Venture Capital’s building. 

It’s been a week already but he never came back to get it either. She was leaving that noon and probably wouldn’t come back until the American branch of the company was fully established. 

_“Hey! What if I’m not here when you are looking for it?”_

_“If that happens… then you can keep it.”_

Injae took off the jacket from the hanger and carefully watched it. It was a Louis Vuitton jacket. Quite an expensive jacket to just give it away like that. _Maybe he’ll want it back... I should have asked for his number..._

His words replayed on her mind for some minutes until she laid down the jacket on her bed and finished packing her things, putting the jacket in her handbag at the end.

“You said I can keep it…

So it is mine now, Mr. Han.”

After the blind date incident, Jipyeong had been very busy because of the upcoming Demo Day. 

It was Thursday noon again. Jipyeong had everything ready for the next day’s event. He only needed to get his clothes ready. That’s why he was having lunch at home since Halmeoni brought him some corn dogs. 

After filling his stomach, he went through his wardrobe, looking for the outfit he thought would be the best for that day. When he couldn’t find his LV white jacket, he remembered its whereabouts. He could only laugh at his clumsiness and decided to visit her, seeing that he still had time before going back to his office.  
  


It didn’t take him too much to get to Injae’s house. It wasn’t too far away from his own apartment. He rang the bell, waiting for her to answer. But it wasn’t a “her” who answered.

“May I know who it is?” It was a man. It took some time for Jipyeong to answer.

“I- I’m Han Jipyeong. I was looking for Won Injae-ssi.”

Jipyeong heard the man mumbling something with other people at the other side of the intercom and then he hung up. Jipyeong was confused. He thought about pressing the ring button again when the main door opened. An old man came out of it, giving Jipyeong an envelope. 

“Ms. Won left for the States some hours ago. She told us to give you this in case you appeared.” 

The old man closed the door before Jipyeong could ask him anything. He clutched on the envelope as he went back to his car. 

  
  


Back at his home, he took out the envelope. Curious about its content, he opened it, taking out carefully the piece of paper and something harder and flexible. He put the letter on the table, eyeing the other thing she left him.

It was an instant photo. 

  
  
  


It was Injae wearing a white jacket.

  
  
  
  


His jacket, more precisely. 

In the picture, her left arm was extended, taking the picture of herself while her right arm tucked the collar lapel of the oversized jacket across the lower half of her face, only her eyes visible.

He then unfolded the paper to read her message to him.

_Hello Mr. Han._

_If you got this letter, you were probably looking for your jacket. But as you said, if you were to look for me but I was not here, I could keep it._

_So I’m taking your jacket to the States. Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of it. I don’t think I’ll be coming back anytime soon, so it would be better for you if you started looking for a new one._

_Thank you for the present._

_Won Injae._

Jipyeong let out a loud laugh when he finished reading the letter. And then he read it again, looking at the picture she left him.

It was cute.

 _She_ was cute.

Oh, well. He’ll have to think about a different outfit for the next day. 

He folded the letter and looking at the picture one last time, he put them back in the envelope. Opening the drawer of his nightstand, he gently put the envelope in it and let out a sigh.

  
He should have asked for her number.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again! What are your thoughts about this chapter 🙈? I would love to read your opinion!
> 
> When I first started writing this, the story was supposed to end here with an open ending. It will also be the reason it may take me more time to write the next chapters, but hopefully I’ll have it for the next Wednesday.  
> Thanks again for your support, see you on the next chapter ❤️❤️❤️


	4. A gentle breeze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A 3 years interlude.  
> What happened and what’s going to happen now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will be mostly fluff before the start of the next arc.  
> We will be getting into Start-Up drama timeline now! 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this ❤️

**_Three years later._ **

**_Seoul. July 26th, 2016._ **

“Yeong Sil-ah, what’s my schedule today?” Jipyeong was running on the treadmill, starting his day with some exercise. He was wearing a white sweatsuit, with a towel hanging on his neck, using it to wipe away the sweat that was running down his neck.

The virtual assistant speaker lit up and started reciting his morning schedule:

 _“You have an appointment with Mr. Do_ , _to go through some possible questions for the Start Up Relay Lecture at 12 p.m._ ”

  
  
  
  


Jipyeong stopped the treadmill and went to get a bottle of water from the fridge. 

“What’s the weather like today?”

Jipyeong took out the bottle and opened it, drinking a big gulp of water while he waited for the speaker to answer his new question. 

“ _Here’s your fortune for this week.”_

Jipyeong looked at the speaker a bit dumbfounded. Was it broken?

“ _Hey Yeong Sil, how’s the weather today?”_ He tried asking it in English. But Yeong Sil continued his prediction as if nothing was said.

_“The God of Fate will send a gentle breeze into your peaceful life. You may run into someone you met briefly in the past, at an unexpected place_.”

“What the hell? Yeong Sil, the weather, not my fortune! The weather!” Jipyeong tried correcting it again, now feeling a bit annoyed but just like before, it ignored him completely and finished his prediction.

“ _The person may seem like a spring breeze at first but may turn into a strong winter wind and change your life completely_.”

Jipyeong only raised his brows, still not understanding the situation. He left the water bottle on the table and decided to take a shower to clear up his mind and prepare himself for this day. It took him no longer than 10 minutes.

  
  
  
  


After his shower, he went straight to his wardrobe, changing himself. Only his favorite watch was left. He looked for it where he usually put his expensive watch collection but it wasn’t there. Surprised, he kept looking for it around the house until a flashback of the last week showed up in his mind.

_He came home really late after having dinner at Halmeoni’s house. Halmeoni insisted him to stay but he had an important meeting the next morning. Too exhausted when he arrived, he quickly changed into his pajamas and went to sleep, leaving his precious watch in the first drawer of his nightstand._

Letting out a sigh, he approached his nightstand and opening the drawer, he found his watch. He took it out and started wearing it when his gaze went back to the drawer. Laying there peacefully was a slightly worn-out envelope, it’s contents already so familiar to him. 

  
  
  
  


He recalled the memories of that fateful day fondly. The warmth of the sun, the busy streets, the very successful no-blind date, her smile, her dimples… 

During the last 3 years, he never tried contacting Injae but he always kept up with her news. That’s how he learnt she went to San Francisco to establish the American branch of their company. And she did it so amazingly.

Given her charisma, her capabilities and her ambition, she secured many more investors than they ever had, even there in Korea. She started different projects, and every one of them saw its results in a good light. Slowly but surely, Injae gained a great reputation there and became Nature Morning’s CEO.

He knew they didn’t have any kind of relationship. Could they even be considered friends? Maybe acquaintances? He wasn’t really sure, but still, he felt really proud of her. 

He took out the letter and the picture from the envelope, just like he did sometimes when he felt down or whenever he wanted to think about good times or just because. It wasn’t anything too deep. He was just fond of those short hours, so out of his comfort zone but at the same time, hours during which he felt so comfortable with her.

Taking a look at her picture, he wondered how she was doing.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**_San Francisco. July 26th, 2016._ **

“CHEERS FOR OUR WONDERFUL, AMAZING AND BEAUTIFUL CEO, INJAE WON!!!”

The sound of wine glasses clinking filled the private room of the restaurant and as soon as everyone drowned down the wine in their throats, their loud voices replaced them.

Everybody was happy celebrating the launch of a new product they worked really hard for. 

But some of the laughs slowly disappeared and were now dramatic sobs.

“I can’t believe you are leaving us now after 3 years, snifff!!!” 

“We will miss you so much!”

“What are we going to do all alone?”

Injae smiled softly at the affection her co-workers sent her, being almost the only one who was still sober, not wanting to get into the plane the next day with a hangover.

“I’ll miss you all as well.” And she truly meant it. They had gone through so many ups and downs together during those past years... She really liked her team there. 

  
  
  


They finished their dinner around 12 a.m. Injae was already out of the restaurant, waiting for some of her colleagues to come out. 

Since they had more drinks than they should have, she offered to drive some of them who lived near to her home.

The cold summer breeze caressed the bare skin of her arms, making her shiver a little bit. She wrapped herself in her white jacket, securing it around her waist with a belt.

“Omg Ms. Won! I love this jacket of yours. This slightly oversized style suits you a lot, you look sooo good in it!” It was her secretary, Ms. Lee.

“Thank you.” Injae responded shyly, feeling her cheeks blushing just a tiny bit.

“Where did you buy it? I’d love to buy one!”

Injae hesitated at her question, not sure what to answer.

“A friend of mine gave it to me before I came here.” She carefully pondered over the answer she gave, not even sure if they could even consider themselves friends. How should she define their relationship?

“A FRIEND? Or do you mean… BOYFRIEND? You have to introduce him to us, CEO Won!!!” The COO of her company shouted, not too far away from them. Being as drunk as she was, it was surprising to see how much energy she had left and how she could hear her from where she was.

Injae blushed more aggressively this time but just ignored it, trying to calm down the COO. 

The memory of Han Jipyeong and that summer day came back to her just as it did whenever she wore that white jacket. For the past 3 years, she never dared trying to contact him, but it was easy to know how he was doing thanks to SH Venture Capitalist’s IG account and to his achievements, that helped him gain a lot more fame, even more than before.

He was even featured in a magazine, with his own interview and posing like a model would do. Injae would never admit how many times she read his interview and how many times she went over those pages looking at his pics. Absolutely never.

The day she got to San Francisco, she saw a post about the Demo Day at Sandbox. She could see a small Jipyeong in the picture. She remembered then that Jipyeong mentioned he had something important that week so maybe that was the reason he never came back for his jacket… 

Not much later, he was ascended to Senior Manager and became the role model of many young adults who aspired to enter the business and entrepreneur world.

  
  
  
  


Injae drove back 4 different people to their respective home. It took her some time so when she was finally back at her own house, it was already 1 a.m.

Injae had to take the 8:30 a.m. flight back to Korea, landing in Incheon at 4 p.m. the next day. She believed it is always better to be at the airport 2 hours before the departure, and since it would take her 30 minutes to get to the airport itself, she had to wake up around 6 a.m. 

Checking again her flight and arrival hours, she sighed. It will still be afternoon when she gets back to Korea. 

She had everything packed up before her dinner so now she only had to put her jacket in her handbag. 

Feeling her tired muscles, she went to the bathroom to take a shower and quickly came out after finishing.

The dim lights of her room made her feel sleepy. Normally, to prevent jet-lag, she would prefer to stay awake and then sleep during the flight but Injae was exhausted. She would have loved to take a nap earlier that afternoon to pull an all-nighter now, but things never turn out the way she wanted it to. 

Trying to fight off the fatigue, she turned on her phone. She set an alarm at 6 a.m. just in case she submitted to the tiredness. 

She then opened Instagram. When she first created her IG account, she used it to upload pics of a life she wished was hers but didn’t exist in reality. She posted pictures of food she didn’t even like, she posted pictures of her family as if everything was okay, she posted pictures of herself smiling even if she wasn’t happy at all. It was her coping mechanism, some kind of escapism. 

However, after moving to San Francisco, she used it more to stay informed about things that were happening in Korea. She followed her staff, big figures of the business world, and even celebrities and politicians. 

This combination of people was perfect for a varied feed. Normally, it would be full of new things. Unfortunately, after scrolling down her TL a few times, she found no new posts. She already checked on them that afternoon.

She then tapped on the first icon that appeared on the InstaStory feed. People seemed to like this feature more as there were so many more posts. 

She tapped on the right side of her screen several times until she stopped at the sight of someone she hadn't seen for a long time. 

It was Ms. Yoon’s post. She was the CEO of SH Venture Capitalist and also the founder of Sandbox, Korea’s Silicon Valley. In her post, she was having dinner with some employees of her company. They were chatting lively and having drinks. Almost at the end of the video she saw and heard Jipyeong calling out someone called DongCheon to stop him from drinking more.

A tiny smile formed on her face at the sound of his voice. It sounded like he was having a difficult time dealing with that co-worker.

Ms. Yoon tagged several people, including Han Jipyeong.

  
  
  


_I didn’t know he had any kind of social media…_

  
  
  


Without even thinking it twice, Injae pressed down her finger on Jipyeong’s nickname only to see his private account. 

  
  
  
  
  


**jipyeong__han**

**4** posts; **57** followers, **57** following.

**한지평**

SH Venture Capitalist Senior Manager.

Followed by **yoonsunhak**

**This account is private.**

Follow this account to see their pictures and videos.

  
  
  
  
  


She frowned a bit, trying to see his profile pic more clearly. The small circle was mostly filled with his broad back. At its sides, there were small lights floating on the water surface, probably of the Hangang river. Only the back of his head could be seen, the color of his hair darker than the night sky. He had his head slightly turned to his left but not enough to see his face.

In the picture, he was wearing a white jacket that Injae could recognize as the one she kept. Her jacket now.

Hearing him in Ms. Yoon’s post, she was now more aware of the fact that she will probably meet him again sooner or later when she’s back in Korea. 

  
  
  


A ticklish feeling started to appear in her stomach as she remembered how she parted ways with him.

After deciding she would keep the jacket, she thought it would be better to inform Jipyeong about it. Thinking hard about how to let him know in a personal way, she remembered people from her father’s house would be coming from now and then to take care of her house during her leave. 

She had an idea.

Taking out the jacket from her handbag, she wore it and looked for her instant camera. She found it hidden in a box, under a thin layer of dust, proof of the lack of use from its owner. Lucky her, the camera looked fine and she could still take one picture with it. 

Before taking the picture, she hurried to the mirror to see what facial expression would be best but she easily gave up, not feeling comfortable with any of them. Seeing how big the jacket looked on her, she decided to go with a covered face photo. 

  
  
  


_Click._

  
  
  


While she waited for the picture to be revealed, she took out a piece of paper and started writing down her letter to him. It took her some time to think about the best words to use. When she finished, she read it twice to make sure everything made sense. 

_Seems funny to me._

She folded the piece of paper carefully and put it inside an envelope.

Then she turned her head towards her picture. The white space was now replaced with herself. A more playful Injae looking from behind the oversized jacket. 

But. And there’s always a “but”. The intrusive voice that talked to her the day they met came back. All the expectations and excitement disappeared and she started to feel a bit insecure. 

  
  


_Wow, you sure are flirting hard with this man you only met once._

  
  


_Do you think he is interested in you? You’re being delusional._

  
  


_You can’t really be thinking he will like it, right?_

  
  


_This is so lame…_

  
  
  
  
  


Injae put down the picture and inhaled deeply, letting out the air slowly. 

Growing with her new family, she learnt how to fake a polite smile, she learnt who deserved her attention, she learnt how to not show emotions.

But she also learnt the cruel truth of their world, how everybody is fake and would easily stab you from the back with pathetic excuses driven by money and power. She couldn’t trust anyone and every action towards her may be faked. 

  
  


But with Han Jipyeong, she may have let her guard down too easily. She smiled at him without her mask on, and let him help her without doubting his actions. 

This may be the last time she saw him before leaving for a long time, so after beating her inner thoughts once again, she put the photo in the envelope and later, she gave it to Mr. Kim.

It would be okay. She wanted to trust someone. She wanted to trust _him_. She regretted so many things in her life but she didn’t want to regret meeting Jipyeong. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


_Beep._

  
  
  


_Beep beep._

  
  
  


_BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP._

  
  
  


Injae woke up abruptly and turned off the alarm of her phone. She instinctively tapped her phone buttons to get herself to the Home Screen. She arranged it to have the time, the calendar and schedule on the main screen to easily go through it during the day. 

It was 6 a.m.… So at the end she fell asleep.

  
  


She needed to get ready to leave by 6:30 a.m. so she quickly changed her clothes and went to clean herself up.

She arrived punctually to the airport, checking in her luggage, passing the controls and then looking for the gates of her flight. Since she was early, she had some breakfast before boarding.

She spent her time working in the shorter flight and sleeping in the longer one. 14 hours of flight surely was no joke!

  
  
  


When she landed in Seoul, it was already 27th in the afternoon. She felt a tiny bit of happiness when she finally left the plane behind, slightly stretching her legs. 

She headed to get her luggage and while she waited for them, she took out her phone and called her step-brother to come and pick her up. 

Half an hour later, she was finally back at home. 

Without even unpacking anything, she went straight to her bedroom and let her body fall onto the bed, feeling it so familiar. She missed it so much. To be at home.

Because of the limited time from flight to flight and the happiness she felt when she was finally back, she hadn’t checked her phone, apart from using it to make the phone call to her step brother who came to drive her home. 

She first checked her email, answering the important ones, and marking some other to check on later with more detail. She then proceeded with reading the messages from her work, her family and other business partners, trying to reply to the majority of them. It took her some time to finish and it was pretty tiring, but she couldn’t just disappear like that for 2 days.

Sliding down the long list of notifications to see what was left, she finally saw something out of place.

  
  
  
  
  


****한지평** (@jipyeong__han) **accepted your follow request. Now you can see their photos and videos.

  
  
  


****한지평** (@jipyeong__han) **started following you.

  
  
  
  
  


Injae rubbed her tired eyes and looked at the screen once again. 

_No, I didn’t._

With a trembling finger, she pressed on the first notification and she was redirected to the profile page of Han Jipyeong’s IG account, now seeing the lonely 4 posts of his.

Oh, sure she did.

Flashbacks of the night when she discovered his account came flashing to her mind. She saw Ms. Yoon’s post, she tapped on his IG handle and stared at his locked profile and then everything was blurry as she fell asleep. She probably pressed the follow button then.

Taking a pillow, she buried her face in it and let her screams die in the soft material. 

The sound of a new notification startled her, as she quickly raised her head to see what it was. 

  
  


****한지평** (@jipyeong__han)** wants to send you a message.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**_Seoul. July 26th, 2016._ **

In less than 2 hours, Jipyeong had gone through different possible questions with his junior Mr. Do, to prepare him for the oncoming Start Up-Relay Lecture. Basic questions, hate questions, tricky ones too. He knew the person he chose to replace him that day wouldn’t make any mistakes but it is always better to be safe than sorry.

His day continued in his office, busy as always. It was already 6 p.m. but he was still buried under new proposals. On the screen of his computer, there was news about stocks and its changes and on his phone… there was Ms. Yoon. 

He received a message from his boss, suggesting he take the “mentor” position for this year’s Hackathon. She actually already told him about the idea some days ago, but even after his rejection, Ms. Yoon didn’t give up.

He was having a heated discussion with her over the phone, ignoring the IG notification he received around 6:30 p.m.

  
  
  
  
  


He finished his work late as usual. It was 22:30 when he got back home. 

In the last few years, he decided to learn how to cook, especially late night snacks. 

Tired of his long day at work, he prepared some tteokbokki. It became his comfort food after a certain encounter that happened 3 years ago.

Finally with his food in front of him, he took out his phone and decided to check some of the notifications he dismissed that afternoon. Nothing different from the usual things… until he saw the one from IG. Seeing the logo of the app, he was a bit confused, as he just recently started using it and he barely received any kind of interaction. But then he saw her name.

  
  
  
  
  


**원인재 💜 (@woninjae0520)** has requested to follow you.

  
  
  
  
  
  


“Won Injae…?” Long black hair, beautiful round eyes, a pretty smile accompanied by cute dimples, the white blouse-like dress… Was it really _that_ Won Injae?

He immediately tapped on it, redirecting him to her profile.

  
  
  
  
  


**woninjae0520**

**365** posts; **705** followers, **50** following.

**원인재 💜**

🌱 Nature Morning CEO 🌱

Followed by **yoonsunhak**

  
  
  
  
  


In the small icon, Injae had her hair down, with a dimpled smile, with the sun rays shining from behind her.

He blinked twice, still processing the information. He scrolled down her profile page and then he went back to the top. Accepting her follow request, he followed her back.

_“The God of Fate will send a gentle breeze into your peaceful life. You may run into someone you met briefly in the past, at an unexpected place_.”

Yeong Sil’s prediction sounded at the back of his mind. Jipyeong tapped on the colored ring around Injae’s profile pic, showing him her latest stories. 

He let them pass, seeing her last dinner with her co-workers, a picture of her baggage and lastly a selfie of herself and an “Incheon Airport” sticker.

“ _The person may seem like a spring breeze at first but may turn into a strong winter wind and change your life completely_.”

Jipyeong smiled to himself and pressed on the message button. 

“Maybe Yeong Sil was not 100% wrong…” 

  
  
  


Thinking hard about what to say, he typed and deleted his messages a few times. Until he finally decided to go with something simple.

  
  
  


“...but she’s more like a summer breeze.”

  
  
  
  
  
  


****한지평** : ** _“Welcome back ◡̈”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was this chapter? I hope it wasn’t too confusing with all the time zone differences and flashbacks 😅
> 
> I did mention I would update on Wednesday but I completely ignored the fact that I would start working this week, so things got delayed. That’s also why I’ll start updating on a weekly basis, so I can go through the chapters better ❤️
> 
> That being said, I want to thank you all again for your support! See you next week 🥰


	5. Long time no see

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After so long, they finally met again.

****한지평** : ** _“Welcome back_ ◡̈ _”_

  
  
  


Injae read his message for the nth time. She already allowed his message the night before but after typing and deleting her reply several times, she just left it unanswered and went to sleep, leaving that task for the “Injae of the next morning”.

Now the “Injae of the next morning” was struggling again, not knowing what to do. _Yeah, sleeping wasn’t going to solve my problems…_

She huffed away some strands of her messy morning hair and quickly typed a short answer to him.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Jipyeong opened his eyes at the notification sound of his phone. The curtains of his room were still closed, only the light of his phone screen helping him wake up. 

7:28 a.m.

He had 2 minutes left before his alarm would go off. Who sent him a message so early in the morning? Still with half his bed sheet on his face and only one of his eyes opened, he pressed on whatever the notification was. He stretched his arms out waiting for his phone to redirect him to see the message in question.

Feeling his muscles relaxed, he decided to pay attention to his phone. Still laying on his back, he read her message.

  
  
  


**원인재💜:** _“Thank you.”_

  
  
  


His hands lost their grip on the phone that fell directly on his face but that didn’t stop him from sitting up in only one move, pulling away the bedsheets from his body.

She answered him. 

Ok, he would forgive her for taking away from him those 2 minutes of sleep.

Reading her short message, he smiled while rubbing the tiredness away from his eyes. 

He took some minutes to think about what he should say to keep their conversation going and then started typing.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


****한지평** : “** _Good morning, Won Injae-ssi.”_

****한지평** :** “ _You sure are an early bird. Do you have something important to do today that you are up at this time? You just came back yesterday.”_

  
  
  


Injae was taking her bubble bath when the new messages came in. She took her phone carefully not to drop it in the water and read his messages. Leaving her phone where she took it, she started thinking about an answer and washed the foam off her body. After spending her time in the bathtub, her mind was much clearer than the night before.

She headed to the kitchen, preparing her morning coffee and some eggs and toast. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**원인재💜:** _“Good Morning, Han Jipyeong-ssi.”_

**원인재💜:** _“I have to attend today’s Start-Up Relay Lecture. I was surprised to not see your name in the attendees’ list.”_

**원인재💜:** _“I thought you were coming too, as you did the previous years.”_

  
  
  


A wide smile appeared on Jipyeong’s face. He saw each one of her messages popping on his screen, while he finished cooking his breakfast. 

She had been out of Korea for 3 years but she still knew he had been attending those lectures. He bit his lower lip trying to stop smiling. He probably looked like a fool right now. 

He sat down in front of his food and ate a mouthful of it. It’s been so long since the last time he felt this way.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


****한지평** :** _“You knew?”_

****한지평** :** _“You wanted me there_ 🤭 _?”_

  
  
  


Injae spit out the coffee she just drank, eyes opened widely. She could feel the heat on her face increasing fastly just as her train of thoughts.

She went back to reread her own message and then his answer again.

_How did he come to that conclusion??? Why did their conversation take this course?_

Her trembling fingers hovered over the keyboard, not sure what to write. She started typing some kind of lame excuse when she received two more texts.

  
  
  


****한지평** :** _“I have something to take care of today, so my junior is going on my stead. It’s his first time there, so he may be nervous. I hope you can lend him a hand.”_

  
  
  


She quickly deleted what she was writing and inhaled deeply, relieved. Ignoring his previous messages, she decided to only answer to the later one.

  
  
  


**원인재💜:** _“Oh… I see. Don’t worry, I’m sure he’s going to do great, but I’ll check on him just in case.”_

  
  
  


****한지평** :** _“Thank you, have a nice day. Good luck_ 🍀◡̈ _”_

  
  
  


**원인재💜:** _“Thank you. Have a nice day too.”_

  
  
  


And so she terminated their conversation, not brave enough to see where it could have gone.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


After finishing her breakfast and preparing herself, she went to the hairdressing salon to get her hair done. When she finished, her long straight hair was now falling down in beautiful waves.

By the time she got to Sandbox, there were only 30 minutes to go. Everybody greeted her with smiles on their faces, asking about her days in the States, how her flight was, if she missed Korea… she just answered them with a polite smile until she met Ms. Yoon and Mr. Do.

It was her first time meeting them in person so she felt a bit awkward but she could sense Mr. Do was even more nervous. He looked younger than Mr. Han, probably her age. 

She sent him a reassuring smile while she talked with him, trying to reduce his discomfort.

They spent the remaining time going through the introduction and some questions. Talking with him, Injae found out he was actually a pretty nice guy. It made sense Han Jipyeong would choose someone like him to take his place.

The 30 minutes passed by quickly and so people from all over Seoul came to the building that was right in the center of Neodeul Island. Mr. Do, Injae and Ms. Yoon were already on stage, seated in this order, facing the increasing public. 

Various geometrical figures were hanging from the ceiling and there were colorful balls among the audience. There were several posters of a girl playing on a swing on the walls of the auditorium. It was sandbox’ logo.

The excitement of the attendees was filling the room, as everybody started sitting, still talking with their friends, meeting new people, etc.

Silence replaced their voices when Ms. Yoon finally introduced herself and then her partners, signaling the beginning of the lecture.

They started with some small talk, helping everybody feel at ease and more familiar with today’s panelists and then each one of them related their experiences, how they got to the place they are right now, the things they had to go through and some curiosities and funny anecdotes.

The audience reacted very well to everything they said. When the lecture was nearing its end, they did a round of questions.

A man with a checkered shirt stood up, with the mic in his hands, looking a bit nervous. 

“I have a question for Ms. Won Injae.”

“Sure. What’s your name?” Injae asked the man with a polite smile.

“My name is Kim Yongsan. Did you read the comments under your article today?”

Everybody gasped at his question. It was a pretty shady one. The boy who was seated next to him smacked his back, looking at him in disapproval but the Yongsan boy looked at her firmly. 

Of course someone would try to attack her with her background and try to take away the merit of her efforts. Injae’s smile tightened but she still looked unwaved. 

“Of course I did. I’ll probably live very long. So many people hate me.”

The audience laughed hearing the sarcasm in her voice but that didn’t stop Yongsan from continuing his insinuations.

“Many say your success is only thanks to your rich father and doesn’t count because you didn’t start at Sandbox. Any thoughts?”

“Because I didn’t start at Sandbox?” 

It almost seemed like she was affected by his words but then she looked at her left side.

“Ms. Yoon. Why is this place called Sandbox again?”

Ms. Yoon raised her eyebrows and smiled, wondering what Injae was trying to tell with her question.

“Mmm… You’ve all seen sandboxes at playgrounds. They prevent children from getting hurt, right? That’s where it comes from. We want to protect entrepreneurs from getting hurt even if they fall.”

The audience responded with agreements, nodding their heads, some of them just realizing the connection between the logo, the name and Sandbox’ goal. Pleased with their reaction, Injae took the word again.

“Exactly. This place is for people who can get hurt by failing. If a person like me, who has a rich father, enters Sandbox, wouldn't that be shameless?”

Injae stopped a moment, thinking what to say next.

“Speaking of hateful comments. I couldn’t care less. They say the best revenge for those _scumbags_ is indifference. That’s why I stopped caring about them. It 's my revenge. Can we move on now?”

“Yes…” The man sat down, wordless at Injae’s strong answer. 

“Any more questions?” 

Arms started raising again trying to catch her attention. When Injae gave the word to another man from the crowd, his mic was snatched by a girl who was seated just behind him.

“Hello. I’m Seo Dalmi”.

It was a woman around her age, just as tall as her, with long wavy brown hair. It’s been 15 years but her eyes still looked at Injae the same way they did when she left. It was her sister. The polite smile that Injae was wearing disappeared slowly into a serious face.

“Okay. Please go ahead.” 

“I see you have made some very smart decisions in your life. But please be honest. Have you made any selfish decisions so far, _Seo_ Injae-ssi?”

People turned their heads around to look at the woman standing in the crowd. Murmuring voices started to arise, wondering why she called her with another surname. The surname that was so strange to Injae, the familiarity already left behind when she moved to the States. 

The provoking tone in Dalmi’s voice already planted an unpleasant feeling inside Injae but she wasn’t going to let Dalmi make fun of her in front of so many people.

“Yes, of course I have. I’m only human, after all. You may call my decision greedy, but it was a desperate one. But Seo Dalmi-ssi...”

The _selfish_ decisions she made in the past, the people she left behind, the things she couldn’t change anymore… everything haunted her during all her life and many times she regretted her choices. How could she forget? That inner voice that grew with her regrets reminded her of them so many times a day. 

But she wasn’t going to show Dalmi that side of hers.

She was stronger.

_“_ ...My name is… _Won_ Injae.”

Injae saw how Dalmi gave her again that hurt gaze but she wasn’t going to back away.

“That makes me wonder, is the person who made the opposite decision happy now? Do they have regrets? They say, whatever choice you make, you’ll regret it.”

Surprisingly, Dalmi’s smile came back. 

“There are exceptions. Thank you for your honest answer. Seo-... I mean, Won Injae-ssi.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The lecture finished not much later. Injae excused herself and bid goodbye to her partners since she was meeting her _dear_ sister.

They met at the cafeteria of Sandbox. With some drinks, they started catching up with each other’s life. 

When Dalmi let Injae know she was planning on starting a business, a small grin appeared on Injae’s face. 

“Who’s your partner? Not grandma, I hope”

Dalmi could easily tell that Injae was looking down on her.

  
  


“No. My partner is someone else. Someone competent, smart, and promising.”

  
  
  
  
  
  


So she lied.

  
  
  
  
  
  


“You remember Nam Dosan?”

  
  


Injae stopped to think where she heard that name. A small girl with old-fashioned braids and a very excited smile with a letter in her hands appeared in her memory. No way.

  
  


“Your pen-pal?”

  
  


“Yeah. He is my business partner. We met some years ago.”

  
  


Injae only nodded her head, not believing anything Dalmi was telling her.

  
  


“Is he so smart, competent and promising?”

  
  


“ _Totally_. He’s the youngest winner of the Mathematical Olympiad, remember?”

  
  


Dalmi finished drinking her coffee, looking away from Injae.

  
  
  


_Oh God, what did I do?_

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


When they were out of the building, Dalmi walked Injae to her car. Injae offered Dalmi a ride but she refused, saying that she was going to meet with Dosan to talk about their project, adding one more lie to her previous one.

“Is that so? Do you have time next Friday? My company is holding a networking event. If you're planning to start a business, it’ll be a good opportunity.” Injae said, showing Dalmi her fake smile.

“Well, I’ll think about it.” It sounded so suspicious. Was Injae trying to embarrass her as revenge for today’s incident?

“Oh, bring Dosan too.”

_Oh, there it is. That really sounds like a bad idea._

“Dosan… Why should I?”

“Why? He’s been such a good friend to you for more than ten years. I’d love to meet him as your sister.” 

“Ah, forget it. I’ll tell him that you invited him, though.” Dalmi answered, trying to escape from that death trap set by her sister. “He’s pretty shy. He doesn’t enjoy big events.”

“Suit yourself.” Injae turned around, just about to leave but she turned back again.

“Thanks for showing me the other option.”

“What do you mean?” Dalmi looked at Injae confused.

“You live off grandma, work overtime and get paid less than minimum wages and now you are talking about starting a business with your imaginary partner. I did make a selfish decision and left important things behind… but at least I don’t need to lie about my life to brag to my sister.”

Injae entered her car and looked at Dalmi one last time.

“See you another time, then.”

But seconds after her step-brother started driving, the car stopped abruptly. 

Dalmi ran in front of the car, almost getting hit. She tapped the window of Injae’s side, waiting for her to pull it down. Injae was still catching her breath from the shock.

“Your networking event. When and where will that be?” 

  
  


“I’ll come with Dosan.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The moment Injae left in her car, a strong wind blew past Dalmi, tangling her long hair, as if laughing at her miseries. She knew she had messed up.

_Everything is fine, everything is under control._

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


It was not.

Not too much later, Dalmi was banging her head against a bus stop, scaring the innocent people who only wanted to go home calmly.

She tried really hard to find the real Nam Dosan on the Internet but failed. She was already thinking about what lie to tell Injae so she could avoid going to the party when she heard someone calling her name.

“Yah, Seo Dalmi! What are you doing?” When she stopped banging her head, she turned it towards that familiar voice. It was Han Jipyeong.

Pouting, she grabbed his arm and not looking at his eyes, she told him about it.

“You remember I told you I have a sister? Well, I’m meeting her at Nature Morning’s Networking Party next friday.”

Jipyeong frowned his eyebrows at the mention of Nature Morning. That was Injae’s company. Her sister worked there?

“I kinda continued our lie and told her I am still seeing Nam Dosan, and that we are working partners. So now she wants me to go to the party with him, to help him meet important people.” Dalmi said that last part while rolling her eyes.

At the mention of Nam Dosan, Jipyeong stopped thinking about Injae and tried to process what Dalmi said.

“Nam Dosan??? How are you going to find him?”

“That’s the problem!” 

“You shouldn’t have lied!”

“I know, but you don’t know her. She… ugh!”

Dalmi felt so frustrated at that moment. She turned around, continuing with her self-torture, as if magically a plan would come to her mind. But her head never met the hard surface again. Instead, it hit a warm and soft hand. It was Jipyeong’s hand. Feeling his touch on her forehead, Dalmi blushed a little bit. He was taking care of her.

“I’ll help you find him, ok? Now stop killing the little brain cells you have left.” 

Dalmi hit him on his arm for making fun of her, sending away the silly thoughts that passed by her mind, but thanked him nonetheless.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


It was not easy to find him. Dalmi still had the piece of newspaper from 15 years ago. The picture showed a small kid smiling, surrounded by his parents, receiving his prize as the youngest Mathematical Olympiad winner. 

However, despite winning that amazing prize at such a young age, his name never appeared again on the internet. He didn’t even have any kind of social media. Jipyeong rubbed his temples, closing his eyes, thinking as fast as he could.

Three days have already passed. There were only four days left. 

“Is everything okay, Manager Han?” DongCheon was looking at him with another batch of folders in his arms. “I’ll leave these here, so you can take a look later.” 

“Nothing is okay, DongCheon-ah…” Jipyeong leaned back in his seat and took the first folder from the pile. He turned the first page to read the introduction of the company when his eyes spotted the name of its CEO. 

“NAM DOSAN???” Very hastily, Jipyeong got up from his office chair, almost giving DongCheon a heart-attack. “I’ll be leaving for today, send me a call if something important happens.” 

And so he left his office.

Jipyeong was already in his car when he called Dalmi.

“I think I found Nam Dosan. I’m on my way. I’ll send you the address, okay? Yeah, see you later.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Smart, competent and promising… that’s what Dalmi told her sister…

It didn’t take too much time for Jipyeong to find this place but he kind of regretted coming. He was now in a small “office” that smelled of a mix of ramen, cheap coffee and oxidized iron. The floor could barely be seen under all the wires and dirty clothes that the three men were trying to hide since Jipyeong arrived.

“I-I’m Nam Dosan, the CEO of Samsan Tech. They are Yongsan and Chulsan. Please, take a seat.” The shy man smiled, his eyes shining with something that seemed like hope. He did call Jipyeong angel for some reason he couldn’t get. “How can we help you?”

Jipyeong sat on the rusty sofa, his body engulfed by the old fabric. Samsan because the three of them have “San” in their names… They really didn’t try too hard...

“I‘ll be direct, I need your help.” Jipyeong got to the point, wanting to go back home as quickly as possible. He told him about Dalmi’s situation and needing Dosan to act as her business partner for the networking party. “It’s just for an hour. Please pretend to be that person.”

“Of course, I’ll be paying you for this job.” Jipyeong took out a paycheck with a number of zeros that the Samsan trio never imagined they could even see. Two million won. Seeing their reactions, they were most probably going to accept his offer, so Jipyeong felt relieved but then one of the _Sans_ cleared his throat.

“So it can only be our Nam Dosan?” He talked with a forced serious voice with a hint of superiority in his tone. “Then can you take a look at our business plan?”

Jipyeong raised his eyebrows unimpressed and took their folder. He didn’t have time to look through it before because he was in a rush but it didn’t take him too much time to do it now. There was absolutely no potential.

“Would you be interested in investing in our company?” 

_So that’s what he meant with angel? Angel investor..._

“Look, your project is still at an early stage for us to invest. But I’m not here as an investor anyways. My friend really needs your help. You can ask for a bigger reward if that is what you want.”

Dosan’s partners looked at each other, and started mumbling higher prices but then Dosan interrupted them.

“Let us enter Sandbox. Then I’ll do it.” Yongsan and Chulsan looked at Dosan as puzzled as Jipyeong but didn’t dare to question their CEO.

Jipyeong stared at Dosan intensely for a moment but then standed up from his seat.

“If that’s what you want, I guess we won’t be able to make a deal. Sandbox is beyond my abilities.”

Jipyeong got to the door and was about to open it when someone bet him on it. It was Dalmi. 

“Oh? Where are you going Jipyeong-ah?” She was looking at him with her big eyes, still trying to catch her breath but ignored him when she saw the three boys that were behind him.

  
  
  


Her eyes landed on Dosan. A breeze entered simultaneously, hitting Dosan’s face. He blinked many times, adjusting his eyes to the light that surrounded the woman that just entered his office. Seeing her face more clearly, his heart started pounding faster and he felt his mouth go dry. What was he feeling?

  
  
  


“Are you Nam Dosan?” The way his name sounded when she said it felt so warm.

  
  
  


“I need your help.” She was looking at him with puppy eyes. 

  
  
  


“Please.” He couldn’t feel his friends tugging at him.

  
  
  


Dosan just nodded, agreeing to help her.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Jipyeong spent the remaining days teaching Dosan how to behave to blend better in the upcoming party but the results were not as he expected. He still didn’t know what made Nam Dosan change his mind but the party was almost there. 

Tomorrow. There was no time left.

Letting out a sigh, he tried to compose himself. At least he would be tagging along to make sure everything went according to their plan.

He took out his phone, like he has been doing for the past week, to look for the only thing that distracted him from the tiring things that kept him busy. Her name was on the top of his direct messages. They had been messaging each other lately, sometimes with only a “Good morning” or “Have a nice day”or reacting to each other’s story posts.

He tapped on her icon to see her latest story. It showed a short video of her leaving Nature Morning’s building. 

  
  
  
  
  


****한지평** : ** _“Did you get off work?”_

  
  


**원인재💜:** _“Yeah, I just finished. I’m taking a walk before going home today.”_

  
  


They had been in contact but it still surprised Injae everytime his messages came in. 

  
  


**원인재💜:** _“What about you? Are you busy?_

**원인재💜:** _“I guess not, since you’re texting me_ 🤔 _”_

  
  


****한지평** : ** _“Hahaha Busted_ 🙊 _”_

  
  


Injae chuckled a bit. She was typing her next answer when his new message came in.

  
  


****한지평** : **“Then you are free now, right? Want to meet? Let’s grab a coffee”

  
  


Injae stopped on her heels to read him better. 

  
  


**원인재💜:** “Sure. Where do you want to meet?”

  
  


****한지평** : **“Remember the restaurant of the blind date? Let’s meet there.”

  
  
  
  
  
  


The sun of the afternoon was still up in the sky but it was no longer hot, the temperature slowly dropping. Injae was already waiting outside of the restaurant. The sight of it reminded her of that fateful day. She didn’t realize when she agreed on meeting him but today she was wearing his (now hers) jacket. She quickly took it off and folded it, putting it inside the ecologic tote bag from her company she was carrying, with some documents she needed to go through again at home. 

Jipyeong arrived only some minutes later. The sight of him shocked her. He was as handsome as always but that was not the reason for her reaction. He was wearing a white jacket. The one she was so familiar with. The one she hid just some minutes ago.

She stared at him longer than she intended so Jipyeong took the opportunity to talk first.

“I’m also glad to meet you again, Ms. Won.” He said chuckling.

That sent Injae back to reality, her eyes shifted quickly away from his body.

“Yeah, same.” Said Injae while she unconsciously clutched harder the bag strips in her hands.

“Have you been to that coffee shop? Their coffee is really good.” Jipyeong started moving, not aware of Injae’s nervousness. She just followed him while trying to calm herself.

After ordering their drinks, they sat down and chatted for a while.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The bells of the coffee shop rang when she came out of it. They had spent almost half an hour inside. By the time she was outside, the sun was about to start setting. The wind was now cooler, sending shivers down Injae’s back. The way the temperature changed throughout the day amazed her. 

At least everything went smoothly inside the coffee shop.

Injae waited for Jipyeong finish paying and come out. 

“Aren’t you cold?”

Jipyeong’s voice startled Injae. _How long has he been there?_

“Me? What? No.” She didn’t dare to look at him but a shiver betrayed her.

“Maybe you should put on the jacket you are carrying in your bag.”

Hearing that, Injae looked at him surprised but didn’t move. Jipyeong reached her bag and took out the jacket.

“When you went to the restroom your bag slid and your documents fell out so I put them back. I’m sorry I saw your bag’s content.”

Jipyeong got closer to her, unfolding the white jacket on his hands. He put his arms around her like a contactless hug and placed the jacket on her shoulders. The distance between their bodies was short enough for her to feel the warmth that came out of his, making her heart beat so hard she started wondering if he could hear it too. 

Just like he did 3 years ago, he wrapped her in his jacket. His “accomplishment smile” was now on his face again.

“Much better, right?” Injae blinked twice before reacting, grabbing the laps of the jacket closer to each other. She finally looked away, shyness now emerging from deep inside her.

“It looks good on you.” Jipyeong continued talking, making our already red Injae turn redder. “I really liked that jacket, so I got myself another one, just like you told me.”

For a reason he still didn’t know, her reactions sent him fluttering feelings to his stomach. It felt nice. Seeing the effect he had on her, he couldn’t help but continue teasing her. 

“Hey, looking at us right now, we must look like…”

  
  


“...a couple.”

“Siblings!” 

  
  


Injae and Jipyeong spoke almost at the same time, her voice louder than his, like she wanted to bury his voice under hers. Now it was Jipyeong’s turn to feel flustered. _Did she just family-zoned him or something?_

“Look at the time! Thanks for the coffee, Han Jipyeong-ssi. I had a great time.” Injae laughed awkwardly, her eyes not really meeting his. “See you next time!” 

Before Jipyeong could say anything, she was already leaving. He stayed fixed in his place until her small figure disappeared from his sight. 

He took out his phone, checking on the time. Less than 24 hours left. 

  
  
  
  
  


“Yeah, see you tomorrow.” 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again! The new arc started in this chapter and the Networking party is coming, any thoughts about what may happen🙊?  
> How are you liking this so far?
> 
> Thanks for reading and for your support! Let’s meet again next week ❤️


	6. Butterfly Effect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day of the Networking Party arrived but things don’t always go the way we want.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!! I didn’t plan to update today but I already had this chapter finished some days ago and I was too hyped because of all the jinjae on Tw ahdjakfs 
> 
> This chapter is a bit different from the previous ones, but I hope you can enjoy it just as much ❤️

“I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!”

Another desperate cry shook the Seo family house. It’s been almost 1 hour since Dalmi started building up her outfit, trying out all the clothes she had in her wardrobe but nothing seemed to work. 

“Can you stop screaming? You just shouted away two years of life out of me!” Halmeoni entered Dalmi’s room, with tired eyes, looking at her poor granddaughter.

“What are you even trying to prove? Is it so bad to lose to Injae?”

Dalmi threw away the blue dress she was trying, turning around to face her grandma.

Halmeoni entered her room and sat down on Dalmi’s bed, tugging at her arm weakly, helping Dalmi seat by her side.

“Yes, definitely.”

“Why? What’s the big deal if you lose?” 

“No, I can’t lose to her!” Dalmi snapped at her grandma. “Then it will look like I lost to her because I chose dad...” 

Dalmi stopped for a moment and looked at her grandma carefully. It was her father but it was also Halmeoni’s son. She bit her lower lip, not liking where their conversation was going, but she was so frustrated, so she let out everything she felt but more gently.

“I don’t want her to think I’m miserable and regret my choice. I was…” 

Dalmi cleared her throat, as the painful memories came back to her. 

“I was happy to be with dad. I was happy and I don’t regret my choice at all. Injae should know that.”

Halmeoni was looking at her with so much sadness in her eyes but Dalmi needed her to understand her, to support her.

“I want to pretend that I’m successful and that I don’t envy her. Just for one day. I’m just going to put on a little show for one day. That’s all.”

Halmeoni has always been by her side, and together they had gone through so much, but today she just got up from the bed and walked away.

Dalmi let out a sigh. 

All the clothes she tried were laying around her room and she was not looking any better. The last thing she needed was to have an argument with the one person who had been with her for 15 years. 

She got up and was about to leave her room when Halmeoni entered again, this time with a wide bag. Seeing the confused face Dalmi was giving her, Halmeoni handed her the bag, letting Dalmi see the cream white suit that was inside.

“Dalmi-ya, don’t go overboard, okay?”

Dalmi’s eyes were stinging with tears that blurred her vision. She hugged her grandma tightly, burying her head in the small shoulders of the old lady.

“Thank you.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Jipyeong arrived around 5 p.m. By the time he welcomed himself in the house, Dalmi came out of her room. She was wearing an elegant light colored suit. It’s peplum blazer adjusted to her small waist and the skirt she was wearing had an asymmetrical ending. She tied her hair, accentuating her pretty face that now showed a nervous expression.

“How do I look?”

Jipyeong took his time judging her and when a whole minute passed, Dalmi raised her purse.

“Fine, fine, you look good.” Jipyeong was chuckling, his arms raised in case Dalmi actually decided to beat him into a pulp. 

“Wow Han Jipyeong, how do you think I'll be able to believe you now? You took too much time!”

Jipyeong patted her head, lowkey messing with her bangs, getting an irritated (and blushing) Dalmi smacking his arm.

“You just want me to say you look pretty, right? You know you always look good. Happy? Now let's go. Dosan is waiting for you outside.” 

He tried to lift up the mood and give Dalmi a reassuring smile but her heart was doing something different with the message he wanted to convey. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Injae was at the party greeting everyone that arrived. Just like the people at Sandbox did, they asked her about her time in the States and how she was doing now before going on their own ways. 

Being the party only for important people of the business world, Injae didn’t expect to see her stepbrother here with her father. 

“What is he doing here?” She said in a whisper.

“It’s obvious, your father is helping him make connections.” Injae’s mother answered, hearing her.

“What? But he’s only my secretary.”

“Don’t be silly, can’t you see your father is only using you? You are the one who worked so hard for this company, but who do you think is going to take all the credit?”

Ignoring her mother, Injae looked back at her father. With a forced smile, she decided to get closer and greet him. Seeing her, her father only smiled and complimented her beautiful dress, showing her off to his guests but just as quickly, he left with Sangsu.

She felt an urge to follow her stepfather but then she heard a familiar voice not too far away.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


When Jipyeong, Dosan and Dalmi arrived at the party, people were already chatting lively. There were people from all around the world, speaking in different languages, talking about the same topics, letting out those “rich people fake laughs”. The purple lighting shone over the expensive dresses and suits of the ladies and gentlemen. Waiters passed by with different wines and offered them to the guests. Jipyeong stopped one of them and took two glasses, giving one to Dalmi and another one to Dosan but neither of them drank from it. 

However, he didn’t seem to mind, as he only wanted them to blend better in the atmosphere of the event.

Jipyeong scanned the place before looking back at Dalmi. She was inhaling deeply, obviously agitated. Dosan gave her little awkward soft pats on her shoulder, trying to send her some kind of comfort but Dalmi only responded with a small smile, thanking him for trying. 

He couldn’t remember the last time he saw her like that. 

“So… We are here now. Where’s your sister? What was her name again?” 

Dalmi was not looking at Jipyeong. Instead, she was stretching her neck like an ostrich, all her body in alert, looking for the predator.

  
  
  


“Seo Injae…” 

  
  
  


_ Injae? _ What a coincidence. What are the possibilities of having the same name as the host of the party? 

  
  
  


“Oh… Do you think she’s here already?” Jipyeong started looking around them again. 

  
  


“Wait, no…” 

  
  
  
  
  


“...it’s Won Injae now.”

  
  
  


Jipyeong raised his eyebrows, processing slowly those words Dalmi just said.

  
  
  
  


_ Won Injae? _

  
  
  
  


Three.

  
  
  
  


Two.

  
  
  
  


One...

  
  
  
  


“What???” Jipyeong’s voice raised higher than he intended, making Dosan and Dalmi jump a bit from it. His head turned, now looking at Dalmi with a confused face. “Your sister is Won Injae? As Nature Morning CEO Won Injae?”

Now Dalmi was the confused one.

“Yeah, what’s the problem?” 

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” 

“What?? You never asked!” Dalmi didn’t understand Jipyeong’s sudden change of attitude.

Jipyeong facepalmed and started thinking as fast as possible. He took a quick look at both his sides and then grabbed Dosan by his shoulders.

“You know what to do, right? Remember everything I told you this week. I- I believe you can do it. I’ll leave it to you.”

Before Dalmi could ask him what that was about, Jipyeong flew away. She wanted to go after him but then she heard someone call her name. 

“Dalmi-ya, you really came.” 

It was her  _ beloved _ sister. 

  
  


And behind her was her mother. 

  
  


Wow. 

  
  
  


Now she had to impress AND lie to one more person. 

  
  
  


“Hey Injae, I was looking for you.” 

And the show started. Dalmi tried to not stutter, her hands grabbing her purse, looking for some support.

“I was looking for you too. I thought you were hiding somewhere.” The surprise in Injae’s eyes only lasted for seconds and then she was already smiling at Dalmi. With her fake smile, of course.

“Why would I hide?” 

“You’re all grown up. I almost couldn’t recognise you.” Injae’s mother joined the conversation. The way she was talking took Dalmi by surprise. It almost sounded like she cared or something. 

“Same here. You’ve changed a lot,  _ mother _ .” 

_ She abandoned you and your father, remember? Don’t let her trick you. _

“Mother? Just call me mom.”

Injae looked at her mother with a mix of hurt and disgust. How could she talk like that with Dalmi, with so much affection, when both of them left her alone 15 years ago? And why did her mother look at Dalmi like that… when she never did with Injae.

Shaking her thoughts away, she shifted her attention to the man who was besides her sister. 

“Is he…”

“Yes, this is Nam Dosan, my business partner.” 

“Hello.” The man stretched out his hand faking confidence but when Injae took it, his hands were trembling slightly. He was nervous.

“I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m Won Injae, CEO of Nature Morning.” 

“Oh, hello.”

She raised an eyebrow. Was he really the promising man Dalmi talked about?

“I’m Dalmi’s… Can I introduce myself as your sister?”

“Sure.” Dalmi was trying so hard not to sound awkward.

“Dalmi bragged a lot about you. You two will found a company?”

“Eh… Yeah, we will be working together. She will be the CEO of my company. You see, she’s an amazing friend and business woman.” Dosan was smiling and looking at Dalmi, happy that he did as Jipyeong told him.

“Is that so? And what does your company do? Do you have a business card?”

“Yes, I do.” Dosan took out a small and very simple card. 

  
  


_ Samsan Tech. Call this number if interested in investing. _

  
  
  


Injae tried hard to control her expression. 

“Your business card is pretty... unique.” 

“It’s retro. Retro is very popular at the moment, you know.” Dalmi said defensively but Injae ignored her and continued asking Dosan more questions.

“Did you start a funding round?”

“R-round? Well… things have been moving rather quickly since round one.” Dosan may have been a genius mathematician and was now the best at coding but business was not his forte. What did Mr. Han tell him? What was he supposed to answer? Why is Dalmi’s sister looking at him with that face? He messed up, right?

“Round one? You’ve never secured funding? You don’t know what that means?”

“A funding round is… The thing is…” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Jipyeong was not too far away from them. He heard Injae arrive and start questioning Dalmi and Dosan with some very tricky questions. Well, they were not that tricky but it was Dosan we were talking about. And he obviously wouldn’t be able to answer them properly. 

He really didn’t want to go there and lie to Injae straight on her face… But Dalmi needed him and he still felt indebted to Halmeoni. 

  
  
  
  


He needed to step in.

  
  
  
  


“It’s a seed stage company we’re immensely interested in. I’d say it’s a pre-series A company. Right, Nam Dosan-ssi?”

Injae’s eyes left Nam Dosan to fall on the knight in a shining white suit that came to rescue princesses Dalmi and Dosan. He was looking at Dosan when he answered but as soon as he finished, his eyes met hers.

“Mr. Han?”

The people at the party were still going around, enjoying the night. Dalmi and Dosan were just by his side. But time stopped for Jipyeong. In front of him was Injae and he only had eyes for her. She was wearing a crimson red dress that was wrapped around her curves and its neckline showed her straight collarbone line and milky skin. Her hair was tied in a low ponytail, leaving her neck exposed to the summer breeze. 

She was shining so bright he almost forgot the situation they were in.

  
  


_ Duh, you are almost drooling, close your mouth. _

  
  


Blinking fast, he gave her a dimpled smile.

“Nice to see you again, Won InJae-ssi.”

“I didn’t know you were coming. You could have told me.” Injae regained her composure and smiled back at him.

“I wanted to surprise you, hahaha.”

  
  


“You know each other?” Dalmi asked Jipyeong with big eyes, surprised. 

  
  


_ Did Dalmi just casually speak to Mr. Han? They know each other? _

  
  


Jipyeong just laughed awkwardly before answering Dalmi’s question.

  
  


“Of course we do, the business world is a small one.” 

  
  


Seeing the uneasy expression on Dalmi’s face, Jipyeong showed her a small grin, making her smile and relax. Now that she felt better, he decided to put in use his newfounded acting skills and help her.

  
  


“Mr. Nam, could you spare me a moment? I need to talk with you about the term sheets that I sent you this morning.”

“Sure.” Dosan also felt relieved and gave the ladies a respectful nod. “Please, excuse us.”

And so, Jipyeong left with Dosan, with laughs and acting as natural as possible.

  
  


“It seems like he’s doing very well himself.” Injae’s mother was looking at their retreating figures with proud eyes, and then at Dalmi.

“Right? Isn’t he so cool? As they say, birds of a feather flock together.” Dalmi was also smiling proudly. Looking at them now, they look so much more like a family... 

  
  
  
  
  


They spent the rest of the evening talking about the years they spent away from each other. Dosan and Jipyeong joined them again when the night was falling, letting them know that, since it was getting late, they would be leaving. With Dalmi, of course.

The delightful surprise of seeing Jipyeong there tonight was overshadowed by the shock Injae felt when she discovered that Dalmi and Jipyeong knew each other. And it was so easy to guess it was not faked. The way he talked so comfortably to her sister and how Dalmi’s shoulders relaxed the moment he appeared spoke volumes.

Anyone would have thought he was her long lost pen-pal.

  
  


Injae didn’t like the way she was feeling. 

  
  


It was an ugly feeling. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


When they were finally outside, Jipyeong and Dosan excused themselves to get their cars, leaving the three women alone again. 

That’s when Injae’s mom got closer to Dalmi and asked her for a hug. Injae stood there contemplating their heart-breaking scene, how much her mother seemed to miss her other daughter, and how she encouraged her to make her dreams come true. 

Injae never heard her mother tell her those words.

The ugly feeling she felt before came again.

When they finished hugging, her mom picked up the purse that Dalmi let go and that fell on the floor. With a sad smile, she caressed Dalmi’s cheek and bid her goodbye as her taxi just arrived.

“I see mom really is worried about you.” Injae said bitterly, but still trying to smile.

Dalmi was clearly affected by what happened but she pretended it didn’t when she turned to look at Injae, with those defiant eyes of hers.

“But I don’t need her to worry, because I’m doing great and I’ll be doing even greater from now on. Right now, you are more successful than I am. I admit it. But you are 3 years older than me. Give me 3 years, and I’ll surpass you. With the help of Dosan… and Jipyeong.”

Injae narrowed her eyes at the mention of Mr. Han.  _ She called him casually again. _

Dalmi was already leaving but then she stopped and came back.

“Oh, one last thing. I don’t know what kind of relationship you have with Jipyeong. But stay away from him. You left dad and me behind when you chose mom. Since dad left us, I only had Halmeoni and then Jipyeong. You already have everything you wanted, so do me a favor and don’t try to take him away from me.”

Injae didn’t answer Dalmi and before she could, Dosan came. Dalmi stared at Injae a bit longer and then she left.

  
  
  


_ Dalmi is right. You don’t deserve to have more than you already have.  _

  
  
  


_ You left your sister and dad behind and lived a life full of luxuries while they struggled everyday. _

  
  
  
  


_ Taking something away from your sister now… that’s so wicked. _

  
  
  
  


_ Even mom seems to like Dalmi better. She cares for her even if she didn’t choose her.  _

  
  
  


Injae started feeling an iron taste in her tongue, realizing she had been biting her lower lip with so much force it started bleeding. But the thoughts didn’t leave. She normally would have been able to fight against them.

  
  
  
  
  


But today.

  
  
  
  
  


They won.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


For the next few days, the messages sent by Jipyeong to Injae were answered with shorter responses or even left on “read”.

After the networking party, Injae took her time to calm down and think thoroughly about what Dalmi told her. There wasn’t any reason for her to stop meeting Han Jipyeong. What right did Dalmi have to tell her to stop? 

Or maybe she had…

Injae was not blind. She clearly saw the way Dalmi looked at Jipyeong… and how he looked at her with such a tender look. 

She tried not to think about what Dalmi said, but she just couldn’t act the same way with him. The guilt of abandoning her sister and father and having everything Dalmi wished but never had overpowered her thoughts. She didn’t want to fight over a boy with her sister. 

That’s why she tried to center all her attention in her work. The longer she stayed at her office, the better. 

  
  
  
  
  


And so, a week has passed since the Networking party. Injae arrived at her office as punctual as always, checking on the details of their new project and giving some advice to her employees to make some retouches here and there.

“Ms. Won, here you are! I came to inform you about a board meeting you have this evening. It was delayed. It will be at 5 p.m. instead of 4:30 p.m.”

“A board meeting? What are you talking about?”

“I called the meeting, Injae-ya.” Injae’s stepdad came just on time. And her stepbrother was there too. “Why don’t we go and grab a coffee?”

  
  
  
  
  
  


With their coffee cups in front of them, Injae sat across her father, looking at him suspiciously. 

“I wanted to discuss something. You see, my dear daughter, you must be tired after working non-stop all these 3 years.” Mr. Won said with false empathy in his eyes.

“I’m not tired, father.” Injae knew what was coming. But she wasn’t going to give in so easily.

“What? You ARE tired. I saw you pulling all-nighters even some days ago. And many employees already saw you nose-bleeding several times. You are sleep-deprived, you must be exhausted,  _ sis _ .”

Injae sent him a death glare and reaffirmed that she was okay. 

“You should look after your health. Don’t worry, Injae-ya. Your brother can handle things here. Why don’t you take a rest? You deserve a well-earned break.”

  
  


_ Don’t be silly, can’t you see your father is only using you? _

  
  


“But the employees and investors won't understand this sudden ch-”

  
  


Her stepfather was smiling even before she finished her sentence. He and her brother were the biggest investors of her company. 

  
  


“Think of it as a special gift for your life-work balance, okay? And don’t worry about this evening’s meeting. Sangsu can take care of it.”

  
  


Injae gripped her clothes, trying to compose herself, slowly agreeing to her stepfather's suggestion.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Back at home, Injae suddenly received a call from her mother.

“Yah, Won Injae, did you know about this afternoon’s board meeting?”

She was the last person Injae wanted to hear.

“I know. Sangsu is going there in my place.”

“And you are going to let him? Come outside. I’m here and I’m going to take you to the office. Try to curry favor with your dad to stop that idiot from stealing everything from you. Okay?”

  
  
  
  
  
  


Injae arrived just in time to see everybody supporting the change of CEOs. Her stepbrother stood frost in his place when he saw her there. 

“What are you doing here?” Her stepfather was just as surprised.

“I didn’t want to miss out on the fun.” Injae said with an ironic smile, looking at Sangsu. “Dad, I learned an expensive lesson thanks to you. If the start is easy then it’ll be taken away easily as well and a CEO without shares is no better than chewed-up gum.”

Her mother tried to stop her but Injae ignored her.

“Thank you for the invaluable lesson. Ah, and you can have that idiot manage the US brand as well if you want.”

Everyone in the room gasped at her rude words but she walked out with her head held high. Her mother stormed out, following her.

“Have you lost your mind!? Did you come here to throw a tantrum?”

“Yes. I’ve always wanted to but never felt like I had the right. You need the right to be able to throw a tantrum. If I do it while enjoying all the wealth, people will say I have no shame, just like you. So I gave up everything. I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I wanted to mess it all up.”

“And? Are you happy now that you got to say everything?”

“Yes, I’m very happy. I’m so relieved now. You should do it too, mom. Then you’ll understand.” Injae passed over her mother and left her behind. She was still screaming at her, not believing what her daughter did.

“You are relieved? You worked so hard to grow the company! How could you? Do you feel free now?”

  
  
  
  


Injae didn’t turn back. She really didn’t want to.

  
  
  


“No... I feel shitty.”

  
  
  
  
  
  


After her outburst, her mother tried to make her change her mind many times, saying she was worried about her. Her mom encouraged Dalmi’s crazy decisions so why was she worried about her?

She decided to start from zero. But thanks to her work ethics, she didn’t leave her company all alone. Some of her employees decided to resign and follow her, supporting whatever new project she decided to start. At least she had them. 

  
  


What should she do now?

  
  


She wanted to start a new company. But she knew that now without any support, it would be difficult. Unless…

  
  
  
  


_ We want to protect entrepreneurs from getting hurt even if they fall. _

  
  
  
  


Injae stared at her application form and read it twice. 

  
  


_ Sandbox 12th residency program. Hackathon. _

  
  


**Send.**

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Days passed quickly as Hackathon day arrived. Everybody gathered at the entrance of the auditorium, excitement and nervousness fighting for dominance. Injae entered with her team and the big mass of people.

The lights of the auditorium dimmed and a big neon square appeared in the air. Inside it, the logo of Sandbox popped out and a cheerful girl could be seen playing on the swing.

That’s when Ms. Yoon took the stage. Everybody started applauding.

“To the 12th Sandbox residency program applicants, welcome. I’m Yoon Seon Hak, the director of SandBox. Sand Box was started by successful entrepreneurs to help fledgling entrepreneurs and became Asian’s largest start-up accelerating centre.” She started introducing. 

“Let me compare start-ups to cars. For one reason or another the cars you’re in right now aren’t moving forward. Some of you may have just jumped in brand-new cars. Some of you may be sitting in broken down cars that won’t start. And some of you may have just switched cars. To make a car move your step on the accelerator right?”

“Yes!!!” The applicants shouted energetically as a response.

“ Sandbox was created to be your accelerator. Now, the first step is to form teams. Some of you have already found everyone you need but not all of you have. Some people even came alone. The right to choose the mates is given to the CEO, the person whose job is to steer the car. Out of the 400 people here, only 40 get to become CEOs. Each team can have up to 5 members and will compete in a three day Hackathon. The five teams chosen by the investors in the Hackathon will be accepted into Sandbox.”

Injae only needed two more developers. 

“Now, I will send you 50 words start-ups are paying attention to. Are you receiving texts? You have 30 seconds to submit five keywords. The people who get the most relevant keywords will be chosen as CEOs.”

The big screen behind Ms. Yoon showed 50 squares and then one after another showed their respective words.

_ Fine dust, security, sharing, AI, aging society, Winter Olympics, blockchain, Korean wave.  _

Injae sent in her messages, mentally blocking all the whispers of the other competitors, so they wouldn’t distract her. Whenever the time ran out, the most related key-words appeared on the screen, followed by a blend of joyful and regretful cries.

It took them 25 minutes to finish all the words. It had been exhausting but Injae did it. She was sure of it. And she confirmed it when her number appeared on the big screen with the other 39 CEOs. 

  
  


Number 023.

  
  


The winners were called to the stage and were given a red T-shirt with the word “CEO” in the front and Sandbox’ logo in the back. 

Injae felt pride when she took the T-shirt. She really did it. With a smile, she took a glance at the other CEOs and that’s when she saw her. 

  
  
  


Dalmi.

  
  
  


She was at the other end of the stage, very much excited for her success. 

  
  
  


_ What is she doing here? _

  
  
  


While Injae was busy in her thoughts, Ms. Yoon started explaining the rules for the selection of teammates. They had 1 hour to complete their teams.

The second Ms. Yoon finished talking, everybody started moving and so did Injae. The CEOs looked for people to work with them on the projects they already thought about and those people looked for the CEOs whose idea interested them the most.

It didn’t cost Injae too much to find people who wanted to work with her, being so well-known because of her background. Many of the candidates of this Hackhathon lined up to show her their abilities. She picked her developers very carefully until her team was full.

With the important things done, she then started looking for Dalmi. It started some moments ago, the strange feeling in her chest. Dalmi talked about starting a business with her dear friend Dosan. They were already at a seed stage with investors.

So why was Dalmi in front of her… with Nam Dosan?

They were standing together with two more men, all of them with name tags that symbolised them as participants of the event. 

It was such a sight to see. They were looking at her like deers hit by the lights of a passing car. 

They were caught red-handed.

Injae laughed bitterly, realizing that Dalmi really did lie to her. So she was not successful after all and her choice wasn’t any better than hers. She said she didn’t regret any of her choices but she put on a show in front of her, using that fake partner of hers. Did they know anything about business at all? Was that boy actually Nam Dosan? 

  
  


But that discovery was not as satisfying as she imagined it could be. 

  
  
  


It tasted so bitter. 

  
  
  
  


Because that meant…

  
  
  
  
  


That Jipyeong also lied to her.

  
  
  
  


Every memory of him flashed by in her mind. 

Was he really going to invest in their company? Did he really want to go to her party and surprise her? Why did he want to meet her the day before the event? Did the jacket actually look good on her? 

  
  


Did he pretend to want to know her and befriend her to humiliate her? 

  
  
  


Was everything faked? 

  
  
  
  


Were any of her memories of him true?

  
  
  


Injae’s eyes were not looking at the Samsan trio and Dalmi anymore.

  
  
  


She couldn’t feel the pain when her nails started digging into her skin. The way her heart became cold and her walls were building up didn’t let her.

  
  
  


Jipyeong was just across the room, and he immediately saw her. But his eyes told her what she didn’t want to believe.

  
  


It was too late.

  
  
  
  
  


She was disappointed in him. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


But more importantly.

  
  
  
  
  


She was disappointed in herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!  
> I forgot to tell you I’m usually more team angst than fluff so here we go! 🙊  
> I was not sure about writing Dalmi this way but I remembered she showed a little bit of possessiveness at Saha when she only knew Dosan for a few weeks so knowing Jipyeong for 6 years and being Injae, she would surely be petty lol  
> Sorry Dalmi.
> 
> This is also the chapter with the most referenced scenes from the drama, since Injae’s moments are so iconic early in the show, I really wanted it to stay as it was.
> 
> But tell me your thoughts, what do you think about this chapter?  
> Thanks again for reading and see you in the next one this Sunday ❤️


	7. Hello, Stranger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Like Newton’s Third Law stated, every action has a reaction. Or Jipyeong meets the consequences of their lie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long chapter ahead!  
> Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Summer in Korea is known to be very hot. And it was. Everybody in the room was sweating in spite of the climatized air. Jipyeong was also sweating. It was so hot that breathing became hard. His lungs were burning. He ran as fast as he could from his office to there, praying for Injae not to meet Dosan and company. 

  
  
  


_Why is she here?_

  
  
  


He ran so fast. 

  
  
  
  
  


He was out of breath.

  
  
  
  
  
  


But he was late.

  
  
  
  
  


He forgot he needed to breathe when he saw her just in front of the people she shouldn't see there. 

He was burning hot just some seconds ago, so why was he feeling so cold now?

His eyes met hers like she heard his uneven breathing. Those eyes of hers that smiled at him were no longer there. Instead, there was disappointment, sadness, anger… 

  
  
  


She was hurt.

  
  
  


_Why is it so cold?_

  
  
  


He was the first one to look away. 

  
  


And he didn’t look back, until she left.

_You are an idiot, Jipyeong-ah._

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Dalmi’s little show was a success. Or that was what Jipyeong thought. When they sent Dosan off after the party and got back to Halmeoni’s house, Dalmi wasn’t beaming with happiness. Instead, her eyes shone with something Jipyeong couldn’t descifre but he didn’t ask. 

“Thank you for helping me.”

Jipyeong only stayed silent. 

He said nothing when he saw her watery eyes and stayed still when Dalmi slowly got closer and hugged him.

“Thanks for always being there for me.”

During those 6 years they’ve been together, they have always supported each other, like those days when Jipyeong was too busy to get himself some food or during national holidays, when he was all alone by himself, they would visit him and spend time as a family. He would also help her and Halmeoni, driving them to places they needed to be, paying hospital bills… well, he was only successful twice because Halmeoni wouldn’t let him.

They rarely stepped into each other’s personal space. She did when she first talked with him about how she still felt whenever she thought about her mother and sister leaving her. She drank a bit more than she could handle that night and cried on his shoulder, leaving on him a huge dark spot from her ruined mascara.

He also did once, when she visited her father with Jipyeong for the first time and introduced him as her best friend. That time, she turned around to prevent Jipyeong from seeing her cry again, so he only squished her arm, as a way of comforting her.

  
  


This night, Jipyeong let her do, and hugged her too, placing soft pats on her back. He didn’t know what she talked about with her mother or Injae, but she must have been shocked to face them this way. 

  
  


“It will be fine.”

He stayed with her until she let everything out. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The next day came and just like a habit, Jipyeong was about to text Injae but he stopped right away. 

Would it be too shameless to message her just after helping Dalmi lie to her? But stopping to text her would make it more suspicious, right?

He knew very well that what they were doing was wrong but how would he clear everything without exposing Dalmi…? 

He thought about it for a long time, but at the end, he texted her like he normally did. His heart beated faster when she answered but for some reason, she sounded off. 

_Maybe she is also affected by yesterday’s meeting…_

He was indecisive about whether to ask her if she was okay, but he decided it may be better not to pry. You know, curiosity killed the cat. 

Finishing his breakfast, he quickly left his home.

  
  
  
  


The networking party was not going to be the last time Jipyeong met Dosan. He decided to visit Dosan to thank him for accepting the job and pay him back.

When he arrived at the building Samsan Tech stayed at, he heard loud screams escaping from the cracks of the broken windows. Curious about the reason for their happy cries, he knocked the door and entered at the lack of response of the team. Because of their shouts, they didn’t hear him get in until he was just some meters apart.

“Mr. Han!!! What are you doing here?”

Dosan was still ecstatic, asking his question with a big goofy smile.

“Eh… I came to pay you back for helping Dalmi the other day. You guys seem to be really... happy…?”

The three of them looked at each other and then showed Jipyeong a proud smile.

“We won first place at the CODA!” 

Jipyeong looked a bit confused at first but then gave them his first sincere smile.

“Congratulations.”

His reaction confused the Samsan trio but he continued doing what he came for and took out the payment from his pocket.

“Here.” He tried giving Dosan the envelope but Dosan rejected him. Jipyeong was about to insist but he remembered the reason they first didn’t want to accept. “I already told you I cannot help you with Sandbox.” 

He expected them to put on sad faces again but Dosan just grabbed his hands into his own, looking at him with pleading eyes.

“I know Mr. Han. I’m sorry I asked you that before. We are going to try to enter by ourselves.” Leaving his grip, he turned to Chulsan who hurried to get his laptop and showed Jipyeong an application form.

_Sandbox 12th residence program. Hackathon._

“We are joining the Hackathon. Please can you just give us some advice and help us a bit? We already know we lack knowledge of the business side, can you just help us fill in that part?”

Jipyeong rubbed his temples and thought about it. He could do that at least, right?

“Okay, sure. I’ll send you some basic information you can study. I’ll also be a mentor of this year’s Hackathon, so I’ll go check on you three if you are not eliminated during the early stage.” He said, putting away the envelope. “Call me if you need anything.”

Comically, the three of them looked at him like he was their saviour and gave him a group hug. At first, he tried to resist but he slowly gave in. 

He could do that much… right…?

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The following days passed and nothing special happened. Jipyeong continued texting Injae but her answers became shorter. Ther pattern continued for some days, until her answers were only monosyllables.

**한지평:** _“Have a nice day.”_

_Read at 9:36 a.m._

She never left him on “read” before. She also hasn't updated in many days. 

Being busy himself with the upcoming Hackathon, he understood she may be also working or maybe she wasn’t feeling like answering, but as time stretched, he became worried.

**한지평:** _“Is everything okay?”_

This time she didn’t even read it.

  
  
  
  
  
  


The day of the Hackathon arrived and obviously Dosan and friends were nervous as hell. They were surrounded by hundreds of people who were just as nervous as them.

_“Good luck today, I’ll be monitoring you from my office. Do your best!”_

Mr. Han sure sounded like a mentor but it was enough for Dosan. Dosan showed the message to Yongsan and Chulsan and together they entered the auditorium.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


...only to fail in the first test. From the beginning, Chulsan ran out of battery so he was automatically disqualified. Dosan and Yongsan tried as hard as they could but it seems like it was not enough. 

  
  


_Number 156._

  
  


It was not there. They failed.

  
  
  


So much for trying… but then his eyes met hers.

  
  
  
  
  
  


Jipyeong absolutely did not expect Dalmi to quit her job and join the Hackathon so when the time for their little test ended and the CEOs were announced, he jumped from his seat when he saw Dalmi standing on the stage. With _her_.

  
  
  
  


Dalmi also jumped when she saw her number on the screen. 

Number 397.

Getting on the stage, she did a little dance with the CEO T-shirt in her possession.

Inhaling deeply, she raised her head to take a look at the 360 people that didn’t make it. But her eyes were locked with someone’s who she didn’t expect to see here.

When Ms. Yoon finished talking, she quickly ran down and made her way to him. 

“Dosan-ah! What are you doing here?” 

Dosan was also surprised to see her here. Next to him were Yongsan and Chulsan, his teammates. 

“We were also participating in the Hackathon… But we didn’t make it...” Dosan gave her an obvious answer but she only smiled, happy to see their faces.

“Then can you take me as the CEO of your company?” Dalmi extended her arm.

It took the three boys some time to understand what she meant, but when they did, they looked at each other and euphorically screamed and hugged, finding hope again.

“We would absolutely love that!” Dosan took her hand and shook it, forming their new team.

Amidst their happy encounter, Yongsan saw a figure approaching their group.

“I don’t want to ruin the mood, but… Isn’t that Nature Morning’s CEO Won Injae?”

And so, their smiles left their faces and Dalmi only wished to take a plane to the other side of the planet and start a new life far away from there. 

She was busted.

However it didn’t go as Dalmi thought it would and Injae just left after giving Dalmi a pitiful look. For some reason, Injae didn’t look like the usual self Dalmi knew but she didn’t have the time to worry about that.

Taking the humiliation as a source of motivation, they quickly found their last member, and after some begging, their team was full and ready to start working.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Since then, Jipyeong never talked with Injae again. He didn’t have the chance, to be more precise.

The Hackathon was still ongoing and both Dalmi’s and Injae’s team were busy working on their respective projects. 

They only had 72h to finish it so it was easy to find them sleeping in turns and eating any kind of snack instead of a decent meal, trying not to waste time. 

Whenever Injae was taking a small rest, Jipyeong tried to approach her so they could talk out what happened. But he failed each time. 

She took U turns, completely ignored him when he called her and acted as if he was invisible.

  
  


She even blocked him on IG!

  
  


Jipyeong understood her behaviour. He really did. He lied to her and it was wrong. She probably felt betrayed or even humiliated. She had all the right to be angry at him, but he was getting tired of it. He really wanted to explain himself and apologize properly. He didn’t even need her to forgive him.

Why couldn’t they talk it out like adults?

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The last day of the Hackathon came and Injae could feel the previous 68 hours trying to take her down. She had been working very hard, both on her project and on her emotions. 

The two developers that joined them were actually pretty good and all her team were doing a great job. But for some reasons, she has been the only one lagging behind, apologetically asking her team to take some rest several times. 

_You are sleep-deprived. You look exhausted!_

Those words from Sangsu came to her mind but she denied mentally every time. 

  
  
  


There were only some hours left for the teams to pitch their project. The order of the groups was selected randomly as each CEO took out a numbered ball from a black box. Injae’s company was the first one to go. Dalmi’s was number 6.

She was never the one to feel intimidated because of class expositions or talking in front of others but today she was so tired…

When Injae came out of the restroom after splashing some cold water on her face, trying to clear her mind, she saw the last two people she wanted to meet.

Dalmi and Jipyeong.

She saw both of them together. Dalmi trembling like a pudding, as nervous as she could be, with no strength in her hands to open a bottle of water and then Jipyeong, like the reliable man he is, opening it for her and giving her some advice for their pitch, sending Dalmi a comforting smile.

She looked away and was leaving, wondering what she did to have to witness that tooth-rooting scene.

But as she was walking away, she felt a cold hand grabbing her forearm, stopping her from moving any further. 

Turning around, she was faced with Mr. Han Jipyeong. Dalmi was nowhere to be seen now. 

“We need to talk.”

“I don’t need you to wish me luck on my pitch.” She said sarcastically, trying to let her arm free.

“Can’t you hear me out at least?”

“But there’s nothing I need to hear from you, Mr. Han.” 

Injae finally freed herself and turned around to leave.

“Why are you avoiding me? Stop acting like we don’t know each other!” Jipyeong almost screamed frustrated.

Injae stopped on her heels and walked back to stand just some inches away from him.

“Well, maybe we never knew each other to begin with.”

Her voice was low and stable and he heard her clearly. She was looking at him with a cold glare, her emotions now buried deep inside her heart, before she turned around and left. It almost made Jipyeong forget the way her skin was burning.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Injae Company did great during her pitch but when it was Dalmi’s team’s turn, they were asked to compete against Injae Company, as they worked with the same database and with the exact opposite idea.

Thankfully, Injae Company got the upperhand, winning against Samsan Tech. All the effort they put in was rewarded.

After the end of their pitches, they needed to wait some hours to get the final results. Which were going to be the final 5 startups to join Sandbox?

Injae decided to make use of the extra time to start getting investors to fund their project.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Jipyeong was with Dalmi and Dosan when the results came out. He had been keeping an eye on the sleeping figure of Dalmi, not believing how careless she could be to sleep outside in the lounge like that. Dosan came right before the results were announced on the screen that hung from the ceiling, waking Dalmi up.

Both Samsan Tech and Injae Company did it.

Dosan and Dalmi hugged from the excitement and Jipyeong saw them but he was busier thinking about Injae.

  
  


_She was burning… she must have a fever..._

  
  


Leaving the two excited kids alone, Jipyeong tried to look for Injae but he couldn’t find her anywhere.

It was already getting dark outside, so he finally decided to give up and go home. But reaching the parking lot, he saw her.

She was heading to her car but something was wrong. Her fair skin was paler today, any form of colour non existent in her face. Even her scarlet lips were today creamy white.

  
  


Before she could reach the handle of her car’s door, Jipyeong got himself in between, taking Injae by surprise.

  
  


“I’ll take you home.”

  
  


Injae was looking at him with annoyance and tiredness. “What are you up to right now?”

Sighing, Jipyeong tried to take away her car keys from her. “You cannot drive in that state.”

  
  


But Injae brushed aside his hand with the free one she had. “What state? Stop talking nonsense.” 

  
  


“No, you stop being stubborn! You are burning!” Jipyeong’s patience was at its limit today, so he unconsciously let his emotion take over his control.

His loud voice echoed in the empty parking lot and startled Injae as her eyes showed him, but she was obstinate as a mule and a bit of fever wasn’t going to change her.

  
  


“I can take care of myself, now get out of my way, Mr. Han”.

Seeing that Jipyeong didn’t budge, she was about to push him away but then her eyes lost focus and she couldn’t feel her legs. Instinctively, she grabbed on his arm, cold sweat falling down her neck. Her breathing was now uneven and getting louder in her ears. He caught her before her arms could give out as well.

“I don’t think you can.” Jipyeong was now serious, his voice deeper than it usually was. Injae didn’t look back at him. Her pride wouldn’t let her.

  
  


Jipyeong was already tired of arguing with her so, against her will, he lifted her up and carried her to his car, opening the passenger seat’s door, and seating Injae inside. 

Injae was also tired of arguing, letting Jipyeong put the seat belt for her and closing her eyes, just for a moment, as she was in so much pain right now. Her head was spinning and all the muscles of her body hurt.

  
  


Jipyeong moved quickly to the other side and got in. He started driving, on his way out of the garage.

“I’m taking you to the hospital.”

Hearing his words, InJae grabbed his arms. It catched Jipyeong by surprise so he stopped the car abruptly.

“Yah! What are you doing??”

When he turned to look at her, her eyes were opened again, looking at him. 

“Don’t.”

  
  


Jipyeong looked at her confused.

  
  


“I don’t want to go to the hospital… please.” She just started her new journey, she didn’t need anyone to recognise her on her way to the hospital, seeing her all vulnerable. Having Han Jipyeong seeing her like that was already enough.

  
  


Concern was still in Jipyeong’s eyes, but he didn’t answer her. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Silence reigned their ride since Injae closed her eyes and fell asleep. Jipyeong took a glance at her weak form and tried to drive as carefully as he could. 

Injae only opened her eyes when the engine of the car stopped.

“Where are we…?” She spoke so softly that Jipyeong almost missed it. She tried to look around, seeing a familiar environment.

“At your house.” Jipyeong was just about to remove his seatbelt when Injae talked again.

“But… I moved out. It’s in the opposite direction...” 

Jipyeong furrowed his eyebrows confused but only sighed and started the engine again. 

“Then what’s your new address? Where should I drive you?” He started driving out of the neighbourhood. 

But Injae didn’t answer. 

He turned his head to repeat his question but she was sleeping once again. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The sky was pitch black when Jipyeong stopped his car. When he opened the passenger seat’s door, he found that Injae hadn’t woken up yet. She looked so at peace. He smiled to himself, remembering the way that angelic face spitted fire whenever he tried to talk to her those last hours. 

Putting one of his arms behind her back and the other one under the bend of her legs, he carried her out of his car. Trying to keep balance, he kept her close to his body.

  
  
  
  
  


Well, it was a bad idea.

  
  
  
  
  


The summer night was still a warm one, lacking the breeze that always came in time in their earlier meetings. And just as hers, his body started burning slowly. Was it the proximity of her body or maybe her hot breath that fanned on his chest?

He thanked God that it was already late so nobody could see him blushing hard. His ears were probably red and bright enough to compete against a traffic light.

  
  
  
  
  
  


After laying her down carefully on his bed, he came back with a basin filled with tepid water and a towel and sat down, beside her. He wanted to lower her temperature but Injae winced at the touch of the cold cloth and woke up, looking at him disoriented.

“Where am I?” Her voice came out raspy. It must be because of her dry throat. 

“I brought you to my house, being that someone decided to fall asleep instead of telling me a proper address. I wasn’t going to leave you on the road and since you didn’t let me take you to a hospital, I made it my responsibility to take care of you. I couldn’t let you die on me.”

Despite the state Injae was in, she still found the energy to roll her eyes at Jipyeong’s sarcastic words. 

“Here, drink this.” Jipyeong handed Injae a suspicious glass with orange colored liquid. 

“What is this?” 

“An oral rehydration solution.” 

Injae took the glass but only looked at the not-really-appetizing drink. Why did he even have something like that at home?

“You are probably a bit dehydrated because of the high fever. You can’t only drink water. This has minerals and electrolytes. And it is orange flavored. Drink a bit of it.”

Jipyeong picked up some of his clothes.

“I’ll go take a shower. Are you hungry? I ordered some bone soup.”

“I don’t really feel like eating…” Injae looked away not wanting to see the way Jipyeong was looking at her, like he was actually worried about her. 

“Okay, you can have it tomorrow after you get some rest. Then try to finish drinking that at least. And take a paracetamol, it will help you feel better. I have some in the first drawer of my nightstand.”

Injae finally turned her head to him with mixed feelings.

“Don’t worry, I’m not drugging you, you can be at ease.” 

Jipyeong misunderstood her reaction as suspicion so he tried to lighten the mood. Injae raised an eyebrow and took a sip of the solution. Maybe that was not the reaction Jipyeong expected as he only became a bit flustered and turned around to leave his room.

  
  
  
  
  


She was finally alone in the spacious room, sitting on the king sized bed after Jipyeong entered the bathroom. She was feeling better but the fever didn’t go down so listening to what Jipyeong told her, she opened his drawer and took out the little box of paracetamol. 

Taking the medicine, she stopped to think about everything that happened these days. She had been angry, she felt humiliated, and she ignored him. But then again, they only met twice? And barely talked for some days via IG. What was she expecting?

Surely a lot to feel so disappointed in him. He acted so gentle, so caring, so playful but also with so much respect… They had quite a strong start, right? 

Maybe that was the problem. 

He left a big impression on her because never had anyone treated her like that. And that’s why she was stupid enough to let him in her ice walls.

Guess you really cannot judge a book by its cover. She learned it the hard way. 

How naive could she have been to believe any of his words? Why did she think he would have been different? Why would someone approach you without any major reason? 

The more she thought about it, the more miserable she felt. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths. 

She could overcome this little life crisis. She was strong enough.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


After her long reflexion, she decided to put the small cardboard box back in its place when a familiar envelope caught her attention. 

It was the one she gave him three years ago.

Before she realised, she already reached for it and when she did, the Injae of the picture was looking at her. 

That Injae was just about to leave her country for who knows how long but she looked so happy and excited…

Why did she have to find that now? It was sending her brain mixed signals and that only hurt more.

If only things didn’t turn out this way...

  
  


_Serves you right for opening up and having a crush with a complete stranger._

  
  
  


Putting everything back in the drawer, she laid down and closed her eyes once again, thankful for the tiredness she put on herself.

  
  
  
  


It proved to be a good friend in these complicated times.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! How was the chapter? This kinda turned into a Friends-to-Enemies-to-??? 🙊  
> Did you like it? Was there anything that you didn’t like as much?  
> There are still many chapters left, so please tell me in the comments, they really help me a lot 🥰  
> Thanks for reading and sharing my story, I’m always grateful!  
> See you again next Thursday ❤️


	8. We were not meant to be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A relationship that lasts forever only happens in fairy tales. In real life, they don’t always last, be it a friendship or something more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is short af compared to all the previous ones.  
> I couldn’t get myself to keep writing plot for the story and procrastinated A LOT writing fluff for future chapters ajfkakfks  
> (It also had to do with all the Hanho content from Twitter but 🤫)  
> We can’t skip the angst and plot, as we need them to develop all the characters but I promise you all a lot of ❤️❤️❤️ soon!
> 
> I hope you can enjoy this chapter nonetheless 🥰

The timid sun raised, brightening the city of Seoul but thick curtains prevented the sun rays from entering the dark room. No bird chirps could be heard outside of the 38th floor of the building but Injae woke up anyways without an alarm thanks to her biological clock. 

Her surroundings were so unfamiliar to her but memories of the previous night came back to her clearly. Looking at her left side, unlike the wrinkled bed sheet that covered her body, the surface was smooth, left untouched. 

She was feeling so much better, her temperature normal now. Leaving his bedroom, she saw his figure laying on the living room’s big sofa. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


The nutty smell of coffee woke Jipyeong up and he slowly opened his eyes. Looking for his phone, he saw that there were still 10 minutes left before his alarm went off. 

She really was a morning person, huh…

Sitting up, he turned his head and saw her in his kitchen, waiting for her cup to be filled by the hot coffee. Had them not been in this situation, that image of her would have sent flutters to his stomach.

  
  
  


If only things didn’t turn out like this...

  
  
  


“You made yourself at home.” His morning voice was deep, startling Injae a bit but she quickly composed herself. 

“It wasn’t my choice to be here.” Her coffee was done, so she grabbed her cup and took a seat, taking a small sip of it.

“Drinking coffee is not a good idea after a fever. It can dehydrate you…” he said out of concern. 

But seeing that Injae wasn’t listening to him, he just made his way to the kitchen and took out a container from the fridge. He poured the soup into a bowl and put it in the microwave.

“I’m going to wash up, have some soup when it’s warm. There’s also some bread. I don’t know, just... don’t only drink coffee.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Their long morning went by awkwardly. When they finished their breakfast, they prepared themselves to go out. And just like they were at Jipyeong’s house, they stayed silent in his car. Breaking the silence, Jipyeong talked first.

“Tell me your address. I’m taking you home, you need to rest.”

“I'm going to work.” 

Jipyeong looked at her and wanted to tell her not to but, what right did he have to be so nosy?

“Then tell me your address so you can go home and change yourself at least.”

Injae was about to protest again but then she looked down, her eyes meeting the red fabric of the CEO T-Shirt she wore the last 3 days of Hackathon. She should probably go home and take a shower, since she had been sweating a lot due to the fever. Without looking back at him, she just typed her address in the lit up screen, silence falling upon them once again.

  
  
  


It didn’t take him too long to get to her new apartment. By its look, it was easy to tell that it wasn’t as expensive as her previous house. During the Hackathon, Jipyeong spent the time he was not helping Samsan Tech looking for information about Nature Morning. 

_ ‘Nature Morning’s CEO Won Injae stepped down.’ _

_ ‘Her silver spoon was taken away by her brother. What will happen now with Won Injae?’ _

_ ‘Won Sangsu, the new CEO of Nature Morning.’ _

Did she run away from her house? Was that maybe the reason she didn’t even read his messages? 

His thoughts were interrupted when she came out not too much later, wearing a black T-shirt under a plaid blazer. She didn’t look at him when she got in his car.

“Let’s go.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


When they arrived at Sandbox, Injae got out of the car the moment he stopped, followed by Jipyeong. Fastening his pace, Jipyeong cut Injae’s way to the elevator. He didn’t even catch his breath before he started speaking.

“Injae-ssi, can we just talk for a moment?” He was looking at Injae directly in her eyes, trying to convey all his sincere emotions. But unlike him, Injae showed no emotions at all, her ice barrier up again, and waited for him to start speaking, even though she already knew what he wanted to say.

  
  


“Injae-ssi, I’m sorry for lying to you. I really didn’t mean to hurt you… I-”

  
  


“You don’t need to try to explain yourself.” Injae cut him. “How do you expect me to believe anything you say?”

_ She is right, why would she believe anything a liar said? _

“You know, people around us are always hiding their true selves and act fake. I learned that from a young age. When we first met, I really believed that you were genuine…” A hint of sadness could be seen in her eyes but it disappeared just as quickly. “But I see you were no different.” 

Injae’s gaze was piercing through him like glacial ice. The guilt slowly increased in Jipyeong and so, he looked away, just like he did the last time. 

  
  


Right. He didn’t have the right to apologize and she didn’t owe him her forgiveness.

  
  


“Let’s forget that we ever met and keep living our own lives. It will be better for both of us.” Injae dodged him and made her way to the elevator, leaving a speechless Jipyeong behind.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Being the first day after the Hackathon, each startup team needed to divide the sharings of their company, but before that, choosing a mentor was a must. 

Jipyeong wasn’t surprised when Injae came into the room where all the mentors were seated, waiting to be chosen by her. Won Doo Jung, Ms. Yoon and Alex, the head of the Korea branch of 2STO, were the other options, beside him.

It also didn’t surprise him when Injae didn’t even send a glance at his side and ignored his presence completely, choosing Ms. Yoon to be her mentor.

What did surprise Jipyeong was the moment Dalmi’s turn arrived and how she ignored Alex’ interest on their team to choose him. 

Alex was equally surprised, trying to catch Dalmi’s attention, looking at Jipyeong for help. But even though he tried to subtly tell Dalmi to change her decision, she stubbornly denied Alex’ offer.

  
  
  
  
  


He truly couldn’t understand why she chose him instead of Alex, they could have 2STO as partners, why would she reject him as a mentor? After the meeting ended, Jipyeong asked Dalmi to meet him on the rooftop. 

Dalmi already knew what he wanted to talk about so she just waited for him to snap.

“Why did you choose me? Couldn’t you see how much interest Alex had for your team? He came expresely from Silicon Valley to Korea because of Samsan Tech!” 

“I know, but I still wanted to choose you.”

“I know that much! But why? He was a great option! I don’t mean I am a bad option, but it was clear as water which one was better.” Frustration was all he could feel as he sincerely believed Dalmi made a wrong decision.

“I believe you will help us better, you always did. That’s why I wanted you. And I never regret my choices.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The clock was ticking, showing the late hour of 8 p.m. The office was gradually getting emptier as the employees left after finishing their work. Jipyeong was still looking at the monitor, trying to read for the 7th time a business plan he was reviewing. His mind was anywhere but there. 

  
  
  


After the choosing mentor process and dealing with Dalmi, he also had to attend his first mentor-mentee meeting to talk about the sharings of the company.

Not only did they divide the sharings equally but they also threw a fit after he told them up to how much should Dalmi have. 

“Did you plot this together? Is that why you chose Mr. Han??” Chulsan stood up from his seat in a brute way, his voice rising with his feelings of betrayal.

“Yah, stop that Chulsan!” Dosan also stood up and grabbed Chulsan by his arm but the later one shook him off.

“If this is how it is going to be, then… THEN I’M QUITTING!”

And so he dramatically left the office, followed by a quiet but also hurt Yongsan. 

  
  
  


Jipyeong just couldn’t focus at all. He was quickly regretting his choice. He really shouldn’t have accepted Ms. Yoon’s proposal. He already had enough to think about.

Closing the tabs on his computer, he turned it off and, taking his jacket, he left earlier than he ever would have.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Not wanting to go home to be left alone with his thoughts, he just sat on the stairs outside of the Sandbox building. The summer afternoon looked darker than it usually would have been at that hour. The laughs of the people who were leaving didn’t block away those thoughts. 

How was he going to mend their broken relationship? But then again, how should he define that lost bond? Were they close enough to be called ‘friends’? Acquaintances, maybe? Were they even ‘something’? Did she even consider themselves as anything? 

_ I wonder if Injae is okay. _

  
  


It didn’t matter if they were nothing. He was still worried about her. Not only did her sister and him lie to her but her own family betrayed her and took away from her everything she worked so hard for those last 3 years.

_ I hope she is okay... _

  
  
  
  
  
  


Dosan was taking a walk to clear up his mind. After Chulsan and Yongsan ran off, he caught up and tried to have a talk with them but they were too blinded to even listen to him. Sighing, he kept walking, on his way back to the office to get his things and go back home but then he saw Jipyeong sitting on the stairs, holding his temple. He always looked stressed whenever he talked with Samsan Tech but never had he seen Mr. Han so defeated.

“Mr. Han, are you okay?”

Jipyeong got startled by his voice, he didn’t expect anyone to approach him. 

“Oh… it’s you Dosan-ssi. Yes, I’m fine. Did you solve the problem with Yongsan-sii and Chulsan-ssi?”

“Eh… Not really but they will come around eventually. As we said, this cannot break our friendship so easily… I think… I’m sorry for their rude words. I guess we were all too naive.”

“It’s okay…” Jipyeong kept rubbing his temples, his eyes not focusing on anything, lost in his thoughts once again.

Dosan wasn’t known to be quick-witted, but this time he knew something was wrong with Mr.Han.

And he wanted to be of help, he wanted to be the one to help Jipyeong this time.

“Would you like to go and have a drink together?” Dosan asked him, unsure. He wasn’t too much of a drinker but he knew people usually had some drinks to let out their problems. Maybe that could help him. Jipyeong raised his head and looked at the young engineer, pondering over his offer.

“Sure, let’s go.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The two men took seats in a stall and ordered their food and drinks. At first, they were just drinking and eating the egg rolls they ordered, enjoying the sound of the waters of the Hangang river, but it didn't take them too much time to start chatting.

Dosan took small sips of his drink, listening to whatever Jipyeong was telling him. Meanwhile, Jipyeong emptied his glasses, getting tipsy quite quickly, but being careful of not getting drunk. He talked and talked about the start ups he was working with, about previous investments, about anything besides the thing that was bothering him.

Outside of work and having drinks together slowly made them feel more comfortable around each other. Without realizing, they ended up talking about the past and about the one reason they met in the first place, the person that connected them. Dalmi.

“You know… I have always wondered why you gave in and decided to help Dalmi at the networking party.”

It took Dosan by surprise, so he just scratched the back of his neck, feeling like he was meeting Dalmi’s boyfriend, or worse, her father.

“And then after joining the Hackathon, you let Dalmi join your company and even hugged her when the results came out…” If Jipyeong was tipsy, Dosan couldn’t tell anymore. It suddenly looked like he was completely sober, as his eyes showed Dosan a mix of worry and protectiveness.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The night was still young as Dalmi was on her way to Halmeoni’s corn dog stall. Her day had been quite hectic. Not exactly a perfect day. With the process of choosing mentors and then dividing the company’s sharings and then… all that mess.

She had to be a better CEO. If she had been, that unfortunate moment (maybe) wouldn't have happened. That’s what Jipyeong told her after the other two men left with Dosan trying to bring them back.

Letting the wind play with her hair, she thought back to her meeting with Jipyeong.

  
  


_ Why did I choose you? I wished you only knew the other reason I chose you... _

  
  


Walking alongside the Hangan river, she was nearing her destination when she spotted two familiar silhouettes. Jipyeong and Dosan were in a stall having some drinks together. What an unexpected sight.

Dalmi decided to approach them, a smile on her face, as she raised her arm to greet them but just when she was about to do it, she heard the serious tone of their conversation.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“You don’t have any ulterior motives, right?”

Jipyeong catched an egg roll between his chopsticks and pointed at Dosan, judgingly.

“I… I’m not expecting anything for doing this.” Dosan said, furrowing his brows at Jipyeong’s insinuation.

“You refused when I asked you for help but accepted right away when you saw Dalmi and you want me to believe you did it just because?”

Dosan didn’t know how to answer that. Fidgeting with the hem of his shirt, he started to feel a bit annoyed. 

“What kind of relationship do you have with Dalmi that gives you the right to question me like this?” 

Now it was Jipyeong’s turn to think about what to answer. 

“I owe her and Halmeoni a lot, so don’t you dare do anything funny. She is like a little sister to me. I have to protect her… But you are also right, I’m sorry… I must have sounded like a grumpy father-in-law… Just don’t hurt her, okay?”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The pink tinted world around her began to lose its color. She wasn’t too close but she clearly heard his voice and what he said. She could have tried to believe he was also in denial, just like her but did he just encourage Dosan? 

  
  


She is just like a little sister to him.

  
  


Dalmi felt something crumble inside her and her eyes started to feel wet. Because of her blurred vision, she couldn’t see Jipyeong noticing her and leaving his seat, getting closer.

  
  
  


_ You ask why did I choose you?  _

  
  
  


_ Thankfully you don’t know. _

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was the chapter? I had to pack so many things in it. What’s going to happen with our Jinjae duo? Do you think Dalmi’s realisation will be for the better or worse? 🤔
> 
> I hope to finish the next chapter this Sunday 🙊 See you then ❤️


	9. A turning point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Learning from our mistakes will help us be a better version of ourselves, learning to let go will help us keep going forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are many things I want to say.  
> Firstly, I’m so sorry I’m updating so late today. I usually update at 1am here, but it has been a busy week for me, so I just finished proof reading this chapter now.  
> Secondly, this chapter has little to no jinjae, so sorry again BUT next chapter is the last one from this arc, so JinJae will have their great comeback ❤️ 
> 
> Disclaimers aside, please enjoy the chapter!

The world around Dalmi started blurring and all the noise disappeared. Only the sound of her broken heart stayed, painfully loud. 

_ Dalmi-ya, is it you? _

She was drowning herself in a cycle of self-pity and sadness.

_ Dalmi-ya! _

Finally realizing someone was approaching her, she turned around and started walking away, wiping off the tears of her eyes and clearing her throat as she heard him getting closer. She should have left the moment she saw them. Or maybe she should have interrupted them before he could say that. 

Thanks to his legs, so much longer than hers, Jipyeong was able to catch up with Dalmi and stopped her from running away. Seeing her red eyes, he started to feel worried.

“Dalmi-ya, what are you doing here? Are you okay?”

No, she needed to hear it from him. Blinking away the new tears that were forming from her eyes, she looked at Jipyeong.

“I liked you. A lot.”

It took Jipyeong by surprise but he quickly understood what happened. Swallowing a lump that was forming in his throat, he tried to come up with an explanation or an apology or whatever that would stop her from making that sad face.

“D-Dalmi-ya…” 

But he was too slow. Dalmi’s tears came back and she tried uselessly to wipe them away again. Curious eyes were taking glances at them now and people started whispering, wondering what that handsome man did to the young beautiful lady.

Feeling awkward, Jipyeong grabbed Dalmi’s arm and took her to a more quiet and peaceful place. 

Sitting on a bench, he waited for her to do the same.

“I’m sorry Dalmi, let’s talk this out when you feel better, okay?” Dalmi wouldn’t look back at him, but she stayed there and he let her calm down. When she stopped sobbing and her breathing was normal again, she talked first.

“I’m the one who should apologize. It wasn’t my intention to be so dramatic.”

“Oh no, you are allowed to feel however you want, there’s absolutely no reason for you to apologize.” Jipyeong gave Dalmi a tissue and waited for her to blow her runny nose.

“The Dosan who wrote you the letters. It was me. Right. But I knew everything about you while you knew nothing about me.” Jipyeong started talking, looking at the river that was reflecting the lights of the city. “Your letters truly comforted me at that time and I really could relate to many of them. I knew what to tell you to make you feel better, I knew what situation you were in, I knew what you liked even before sending you the first letter.”

Turning his head to Dalmi, he continued talking.

“But Han Jipyeong is not the same as that Nam Dosan. So, did you like me or did you like the persona I created for you? We settled down everything about the lies some years ago, but I didn’t stop to think about how your feelings may have been affected by them, so… I know I’m late, but I sincerely apologize.”

They stayed silent for some more minutes. She always thought that they may feel uncomfortable if she confessed her feelings, but she at least wasn’t right now. Was he?

“Can we still be friends after this childish outburst of mine?”

“You and Halmeoni are the only family I have. This isn’t going to break us apart.” Jipyeong said, giving Dalmi a warm hug.

First loves are so innocent and pure that sometimes they can overpower rationality. Long time first loves are also nostalgia, longing, and the comfort of the unchanging world left behind.

  
  


But first loves don’t always need to be the last one. 

  
  


Sometimes things just weren’t meant to be.

  
  


And that’s totally fine.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


After a complicated night, Dosan was on his way to Sandbox. While having drinks with Mr. Han, the older one suddenly got up and left. At least he paid for the meal before leaving. He was actually a bit worried about Jipyeong since he was slightly tipsy and Dosan wasn’t sure if he was feeling any better than before but that morning he received a message from his mentor apologizing for leaving abruptly and thanking him for the talk.

Mr. Han always looked so serious and whenever he talked, his words came out harsh but after their sincere conversation last night, Dosan knew that there were so many other things he still didn’t know about him. Who knows? Maybe one day they will be close enough to share that kind of information with each other.

  
  
  


Opening the door to Samsan Tech’s office, his eyes met with the ones of his two friends. A smile was already forming on his lips when Yongsan interrupted him while picking up his USB and putting it in the pocket of his backpack.

“Don’t get your hopes up, we just came to get our things back.” 

“Guys, this is all a misunderstanding…” Dosan tried to explain to them once again how it was never his intention to ‘betray’ them and why Mr. Han was right this time.

“Don’t try to stop us, we already know which side you are in.” Chulsan said dramatically, approaching the window to get a bottle of milk that has been there for who knows how long.

“Wait, Chulsan! Don’t drink that!”

“Now you also want to stop me from drinking milk? Do you think you are a hotshot now because you have Mr. Han backing you up?” The pettiness he still felt didn’t allow him to be reasonable and only fueled his desire to do the opposite thing Dosan tried to prevent him from. Turning around he started opening the bottle. “I’m going to drink this and no one is g-”

But before he could finish his sentence, the cap flew far away as its contents came out like an explosion, a thick layer covering his eyes and then falling on the floor like big chunks of whipped cream. Painful screams filled the room as panic showed on the faces of the other two boys. Completely forgetting about the matter that broke them apart until some minutes ago, they grabbed Chulsan by his arms, heading to the door, about to take him to the hospital.

  
  
  
  
  
  


The elevator Jipyeong took stopped on the base floor instead of taking him to the correct destination. Turning away his gaze from his phone, he met a smiling Dalmi. 

After getting back at home, she had enough time to settle down her feelings. It felt like she took off a lot of weight from her shoulders. And thankfully, now looking at him didn’t make her feel things at all. She was happy to be only friends with him and she actually felt like they got closer.

They enjoyed the seconds of silence in the elevator, only for it to be broken by the screams of the Samsan boys when the doors opened. 

“What happened??” Dalmi ran out of the elevator, horrified seing the state Chulsan was in, as he kept groaning in pain.

“Milk. Exploded. Eyes.” Said Yongsan dragging his friend's body.

“We need to get to the hospital. Now!” Dosan said, alarmed.

“Let me drive you there.” Jipyeong took out his keys and went back to the elevator, opening its doors for the team to join him.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Loud cheerful cries could be heard from the other side of the door. Yongsan and Dosan accompanied their friend to get the results. And it seems like he was going to be just fine.

“I’m glad they’re okay…” Dalmi said, leaning against her seat.

“Should we go and drag them back to Sandbox? They sure are making a fuss in a hospital.” Jipyeong tried his best to avoid the judging looks people were giving them. 

_ Why do I feel like I’m babysitting them?  _

“Sure.” Dalmi got up and started heading to the room they were in.

“Here’s the medicine you’ll need to take, but It will only help you slow the process of vision loss. Try to start changing your house furniture and get help from family members to adapt to a new lifestyle.”

_ Vision loss… I can’t even imagine how hard that must be… _

Dalmi’s stare laid on the door beside Chulsan’s room. When the door slowly opened, her heart started beating faster as a familiar figure came out of the room.

“Halmeoni?”

At her words, Jipyeong turned around as well, meeting the surprised eyes of the woman who taught him the love of a family. 

_ Why is Halmeoni here?? _

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Today has been a long day. When Jipyeong came back home at night, he couldn’t help but go straight to the sofa and let his body fall on it. 

After meeting Halmeoni in the hospital, he decided to drive her back with Dalmi. They stayed silent during the ride but when they finally got home, Dalmi and Jipyeong bombarded Halmeoni with all the questions they accumulated. Both their eyes were filled with tears and worry. The older woman did her best to reassure them she was totally fine and promised them she would take all her medicines.

She had been losing eyesight for some time now and it started affecting her life some weeks ago. Jipyeong had been so busy that he didn’t have the time to visit her. 

Why didn’t he realize earlier she was having problems?

For the rest of the day, he was unable to concentrate. It had been difficult all this last week, first with Injae’s matter and now with Halmeoni’s health.

He already lost her…

No, he couldn’t lose Halmeoni as well. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The bad news about Halmeoni affected Dalmi more than she expected. During the following days, she was unable to keep up with the new ideas everyone suggested for their start-up. She actually couldn’t care less about work. How was Halmeoni at the moment? Would she be okay at home? What if something happens to her because of her eyesight?

Seeing how devastated Dalmi was, Dosan tried to cheer her up many times but obviously there wasn’t anything he could say or do… or maybe there was!

The idea came to him just like in animations, he even looked around to find the lightbulb. Turning to look at Dalmi, he showed her a reliable smile.

“Dalmi-ya, I think I have an idea!”

Dalmi looked at Dosan confused but let him talk. He then proceeded to explain the concept of “Noongil” (as he called it), an app that used YoungShil’s computerized invoicing system and their image recognition program. They would be the new eyes for people with eyesight problems.

However, his team didn’t completely understand his suggestion, but then he used the comparison of a dog guide. 

“YoungShil will see what the person wants to see and then it will tell them!”

Dalmi was processing this information and when it finally reached her, her eyes showed a small light of hope. They were shining once again. The rest of the team also started nodding, agreeing with him, and so, they started this new project. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Being the CEO of the company, Dalmi couldn’t help with the making of the program, nor the design of the app. Dosan, Yongsan and Chulsan were working hard to increase the accuracy of the image recognition system and Saha, their designer, was adding the final touches of the app. When the app was finally launched, a new problem emerged. As people started using Noongil, they would need to pay for the external program they were using. They were a start-up backed up by Sandbox, but their funds would sooner or later not be enough. Since this was an app created to help people with disabilities, they weren’t going to earn any money from them either.

Dalmi’s mission was to find CSR funding for Noongil. When she was on her way to Jipyeong’s office,they met in the middle of the corridor. The moment they told him about their idea, Jipyeong’s first intention was to invest personally on their project but Dalmi refused his help.

_ “I know you are doing it because you still feel indebted but I’m sure Halmeoni wouldn’t want you to be tied down like this.” _

_ “Then let’s make this. If you can’t find anyone to support you, you’ll let me help.” _

_ “I promise.” _

Jipyeong prepared a list with all the companies that may be interested in spending their budget on them and gave it to Dalmi. He knew that a non-profitable app like theirs was not the best idea for a first project, so it was going to be very difficult for them. 

And it was.

As days passed and names were crossed out from the list, Dalmi started to feel desperate. Why was it so difficult to find someone to help them?

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Calm and quiet were the perfect words to describe how Injae’s days went by lately. Despite the hurtful words she told Jipyeong the last time they spoke, inevitably she still noticed his presence in the building and therefore, she did her best to avoid him. She was doing just fine. Both emotionally and business-wise.

Until now. 

“Congratulations, I heard you landed a project with Jeonghan Bank.” 

So immersed in avoiding Jipyeong, she almost forgot about his partner in crime. Dalmi was not exactly a person she wanted to meet so early in the morning.

“Thank you. Both your congratulations and my thank you sound awfully insincere.”

“I can’t congratulate you sincerely because your achievement is not real.”

Injae furrowed her brows at Dalmi’s words. Why was Dalmi annoying her now? Did she not have enough fun with her lie last time? 

“Does it look fake to you?”

“Yes, it does. But you do seem very lucky and well-connected. What everyone else finds difficult seems so easy for you.” She really did her best. She called every single person on the list Jipyeong gave her. She even visited them and told them about their project without even looking at the folder she copied for each one of the possible future investors. She put on her best smile, she dressed up and tried to look neat, she talked with as much emotion as she could with the intention of getting some empathy from them, but none called back. No one was interested. 

“Do you think I pulled strings? Why?”

“I heard the CEO of the bank and your father went to the school together.” Imagine how shitty she felt when, after trying that much, she heard Yongsan and Chulsan coming back from the restroom to tell the team about the success of her sister. At first she was surprised but that feeling quickly disappeared when she knew the connection of the CEO and her father.

Injae scoffed at Dalmi’s insinuation. Her lips started curling up not believing this funny situation as she didn’t know if she wanted to cry or laugh. She knew Dalmi was competitive. She was as well! But she never expected Dalmi would keep discrediting her effort even now at Sandbox. 

“My stepfather‘s company is also launching an AI project. It would have been a lot easier for me to take that on. Why would I bother with Jeonghan?”

Seeing the confused eyes Dalmi was giving her, she decided to be graceful enough to explain everything to her. Not that she needed to do it, but she was so done with the audacity of her sister.

“I met someone from the company that day. While you were busy playing games lying to me and then taking a nap after the Hackathon, I met the man who was there as a judge. Then I contacted him and submitted a proposal. And guess what? My father was not involved at all.” 

She worked her butt off and she was not letting anyone look down on her anymore.

“You had your chance, too. You’re just incompetent for not seizing it. Try to learn from my accomplishments. Luck? Connections? Stop listing excuses already. I’m tired of it.”

Dalmi tried to hold the cold stare her sister was giving her but she lost. She started feeling ashamed by her insinuations, looking away, now speechless. 

Injae was already leaving when Dalmi spoke again. 

“Sorry. And congratulations. This time sincerely.” 

“...thanks.” 

It was a hard pill to swallow but she will learn from it.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Well, learning from her sister’s accomplishments probably didn’t mean to go and try to work with her stepfather, right? Because as soon as she and Dosan stepped in the meeting room, she felt that something was wrong.

Firstly, Mr. Won left the meeting telling them to meet him later again, excusing himself about not knowing too much about technology.

Secondly… Injae’s step brother, Sangsu.

“Since I’m Injae’s older brother, I’ll treat you like my own little sister, okay?” He said using a casual speech on her. 

Dalmi calmed herself down, trying to ignore the way he was acting.

But then he started talking about why they accepted their proposal.

“You want us to collect 100000 image files?”

“You can hire a part-timer to do the job for you. We are developers. You can’t expect us to do that.” Dosan added.

“Right. We are here to offer you our AI solution.”

“Jeez, you guys are frustrating me.” Sangsu interrupted them. “Hiring part-timers is too costly. Even if we hired students. And they wouldn't even know what kind of images we would need. This is a job for you developers.”

Dosan was about to intervene again but Dalmi stopped him.

  
  
  
  


If whatever bullshit the stepbrother told them wasn’t enough, they were sent to Won Doo Jung’s office for more. 

“It will be a lot of work, but it’s a good opportunity for you. It may look like manual labour, but it will be a good experience! What makes youth so special? Your passion! We want to buy your passion.” 

The man in front of her was showing an obnoxious smile. So fake.

“Then… I guess you don’t need our solution.” She could hear the anger in Dosan’s voice. He never sounded that angry. Not even when his friends were calling him a traitor. 

“Your solution? Why not? If it’s a good idea, we should use it.” The man nodded shamelessly. 

“You promised to pay 50 million won for the solution alone.” Dalmi’s blood has been boiling for a long time now. 

“I checked your website, and it looks pretty bare. You can put our logo on your main page.  _ Morning Group’s strategic partner _ . That’s worth a lot more than 50 million won. Do you know why I chose Samsan Tech out of all the candidates?” The smile he showed her some moments ago changed to a sadder look. Was that pitiful look he was giving her? 

“If you chose to follow your mother, you’d be my daughter now. You went through a lot because you didn’t. It would have been nice if you’d chosen me like your sister.” Dalmi felt a knot in her throat, painful memories of the past haunting her. 

“I always felt bad for you. Now that I can help you, I feel a little bett-”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!” Dosan’s voice startled both the chairman and Dalmi. His knuckles were white from all the bullshit he has been hearing. How could that man actually think saying those things was anything near from okay? He turned his head to the trembling Dalmi and took her hand in his. “Dalmi, I don’t think it’s worth working on this project. Let’s go.”

Not letting the hateful man speak again, Dosan left the office with Dalmi. And they kept walking until the building was no longer visible behind them. 

Entering a convenience store, Dosan bought Dalmi a bottle of water and some food so they took a seat at a table in a corner of the shop. 

“Thanks for standing up for me, Dosan-ah…” Dalmi stirred around the ramen of her cup, not finding her appetite yet. “I couldn’t find it in myself to answer him.”

“It’s okay, that wasn’t something you had to endure. He was being plain rude and paternalizing. Are you feeling better?”

“Yes… but at the same time I’m not… what am I going to do?” She had been crying so many times lately so she tried to hold back her tears. She felt helpless. And she didn’t want to ask Jipyeong to spend his money on this project. This wasn’t even something only for Halmeoni. This was going to be used by all the people who needed it and who knows for how long. What would they do when he no longer could support them? 

Dosan didn’t know how to comfort her. Should he call Mr. Han? Maybe that’s what she needed. He knew they were closer. Mr. Han even said she was like his sister. He didn’t want her to keep feeling so distressed. 

But both their thoughts were interrupted by the sound of an incoming call from Dalmi’s phone. The screen showed the name ‘CEO Lee Hyewon’. Who was that?

Dalmi looked confused at Dosan, receiving back a confused look from him.

Quickly she dropped her chopsticks and took the call, putting the speaker on so Dosan could hear too.

“Hello, this is Lee Hyewon, CEO of Seonju Life Insurance. Is this CEO Seo from Samsan Tech?”

“Y-yes, how can I help you?” Dalmi’s voice was trembling.

“I’m calling to talk about your project, Noongil. We have been thinking about your proposal and we would like to arrange a meeting to talk over it again if you are still looking for a partner.”

Dalmi’s eyes opened big as plates, looking back at Dosan to confirm she heard right. He was just as shocked as her and nodded fervently.

“We would love to!”

“Thanks for giving us another opportunity, would it be okay tomorrow at 11 a.m. at our office?”

“Of course! We will be there! Thank you for reconsidering our offer!”

“Then let’s meet tomorrow. Have a nice day.”

The moment she hung up, Dalmi was still assimilating what happened. 

“Dosan-ah… Did we just get a partner?”

Dosan was smiling from ear to ear.

“Yes. We did it, Dalmi-ya.”

Letting out an excited scream, Dalmi hugged Dosan. He was a bit flustered at first, not expecting her reaction but then he hugged her back.

Dalmi has been learning many things in the past days, not exactly in the most pleasant way. Many misconceptions of hers were also starting to clear up. 

She was more happy now.

She was going to be okay.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again! How was this chapter? Missing JinJae? Me too asdfjaskdfk 😂💔  
> I wanted to prepare something for Valentine’s Day but I almost didn’t have time to update today lmao so maybe I’ll have it for next week.  
> Anyways, I can only wish you a happy Valentine’s Day and for you all to stay healthy.  
> Edit: Thanks so much for the 2000+ hits! 🥺❤️  
> Next chapter will come out on Wednesday ❤️  
> See you then 😊


	10. Heart to heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes it is all about the timing. Those unspoken words may finally be delivered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Firstly: ☃️ :) ❤️ And that’s it 🥰🥰🥰
> 
> Secondly: Do you remember the reason I started writing this fic? Yes, it was my sister!  
> It is her birthday and that’s why we decided to post this chapter today ❤️  
> I personally enjoyed writing it a lot, I hope you all will like it too!

Leaving August behind, time passed quickly and the last hints of summer tried their best to keep the days warm in Seoul. After meeting with Lee Hyewon, Samsan Tech got the support of Seonju Life Insurance and more people started using their app.

Moreover, thanks to the help of Nam Cheonho, Dosan’s cousin, the app also got global recognition. Everyone was surprised to know how he did it. It was all thanks to Park Chanho, Dosan’s favourite baseball player since he was a child.

Cheonho contacted him via IG and told him about the kid who got a ball signed from him 15 years ago and how he was now following his dreams and creating applications to help people. It seemed like Cheonho’s story moved the baseball player as he related the story and showed how Noongil worked on TV.

That’s how Noongil became a great success. 

And just like Samsan Tech, Injae Company was also thriving. They created an AI solution and we’re already in the process of signing with a big company. 

  
  
  
  
  


After so many obstacles, Dalmi was finally feeling like the stormy waters she had been sailing were calm at last. She was now heading towards Jipyeong’s office to ask him some questions about what to do next, after receiving a lot of good and some not-so-good feedback about Noongil.

Knocking the door a few times, she waited for him to let her in, but she got no response after some minutes. That was strange. His employees were surely already on their way home, but she knew Jipyeong never left his office so early. And the lights were still on. So, carefully opening the door, she stuck her head through the door frame, making sure she was not interrupting anything important. 

The spacious office was almost empty and all the desks that were buried under documents in the morning were now clean and neat. No key smashing could be heard, only a faint sound of a still running computer. The person she was looking for was hidden behind his desk, at the very end of the room.

Curious about what had him so busy that he didn’t even notice her, she got closer and stood beside him. His eyes were glued on his phone, brows frowning while he rubbed his neck with his left hand, a habit he had whenever he was lost in his thoughts. 

Dalmi peeked on his screen, eyes opening wide when she saw the familiar name.

**_woninjae0520_ **

**_원인재_ ** **💜**

**User not found.**

_ Why is Jipyeong looking at Eonni profile? _

_ Wait. Did Eonni block him?? _

As Jipyeong let out a sigh, Dalmi decided to break the silence and make her presence known.

“Why are you sighing, Mr. Han?” Dalmi said, startling Jipyeong who quickly locked his phone.

“I- Is not what it looks like!”

“What are you talking about?” Dalmi asked, feigning ignorance and acting as innocent as possible. Thankfully, Jipyeong was too nervous to see past her acting.

“N- nothing.” Jipyeong tried to clear his throat. “Did you need anything?”

“Oh, I came to talk with you about the reviews we got from Noongil.” She said with a sweet smile, remembering the first reason she was here.

  
  
  
  
  


As Dalmi closed the door behind her, she made her way back to her office. She didn’t realize before, too blinded by the crush she had on Jipyeong and the jealousy she felt towards her sister but there were many times where he would react differently in the presence of her dear sister. 

Recalling the memories of the first time she saw them together, flashbacks of the networking party came to her. He ran away when he discovered who her sister was and then when he came back to help them and Injae called his name, his eyes were shining bright. He showed her his dimpled smile too! 

And even after Injae discovered their lies, she certainly saw him stealing glances at her sister whenever their paths crossed inside of Sandbox, just like that time when Injae saw how Samsan Tech had their first crisis because of the sharings. 

_ There must have been something going on between these two... _

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


It was a peaceful 13th of September, and as always, since early in the morning, Injae was in her office working on her on-going projects. The contract with Haun Engineering & Construction was already signed and they would soon kick off Injae Company’s unmanned Security System. 

She felt so proud of herself and her team. They worked very hard for this and it was just about to show its results.

However, her peace quickly disappeared the moment Dalmi entered the room, followed by a rather suspicious man.

“What brings you here?” Injae asked, leaving her desk and approaching them. 

“You have a visitor.” Dalmi said, stepping aside. That man was looking for Injae’s office but ended up in Dalmi’s so she kindly accompanied him to the right one. 

“Who is Ms Won Injae, the CEO?”

“I am Won Injae. How can I…”

Before Injae could finish her words, she felt something hitting her right shoulder, sending her a stinging pain. The old man had thrown her an egg, his dull eyes now full of anger. 

“YOU! YOU’RE THE ONE WHO IS TRYING TO GET ALL OF US FIRED!” He screamed while throwing her another egg from the whole cardboard he had been carrying without Dalmi noticing, this time, aiming for her face. 

Fortunately, Injae reacted on time and put her arms in front of her, avoiding the pain she could have felt if that egg landed on its initial target. Her limbs were all trembling, still not comprehending why she was suddenly being attacked.

“Please calm down, sir!” Her employees tried to reason with the enraged man, retaining him in his place.

“LET GO. I SAID, LET GO!” With an astonishing force, the man released himself from the grip of the employees and picked up a computer monitor, running towards Injae. “YOU NEED A LESSON!”

Panicking, Injae took some steps backwards but her legs gave in and she fell on the floor. Cold sweat ran down her spine as she mentally prepared herself to receive the blow.

“NO!!” Getting between the old man and Injae, Dalmi turned her back on him and getting down, she covered Injae’s body under hers. 

But none of the two women was hurt as Dosan, Chulsan and Yongsan came in time to grab the man by his arms and stopped him.

“Hold on, sir!” Dosan shouted while Chulsan grabbed him from the other side and Yongsan took the monitor away from him. 

“LET GO!”

“Please, stop!”

“WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?” The man kept screaming.

“Calm down, sir!” The three men started dragging him out of the office.

“HOW DARE YOU! WHO ARE YOU TO GET US FIRED? YAH!!!”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


When the voice of that old man couldn’t be heard anymore, Dalmi looked back at Injae. She was still in Dalmi’s arms, shaking a little bit, with her eyes closed.

“Hey, are you okay? Are you hurt?” Dalmi said, worried about her sister. She softly tucked away a strand of Injae’s hair away from her face, meeting her sister's eyes that showed how scared she was. She never saw her sister in such a vulnerable state.

“I-I’m okay…” Injae tried her best to compose herself, turning her head to avoid Dalmi’s concerned look but her unsteady breathing and trembling hands betrayed her.

“Ms. Won, are you hurt? We should take you to see a doctor.” Her employees were also worried about her. Two of them took some steps forward but leaving enough space for Injae. They were the ones who followed her after leaving Nature Morning and despite her cold personality, they knew she was actually very kind and considerate. Never would they wish anything bad to happen to her.

“N-no, it’s fine… I’m fine...” 

Looking at her sister’s condition, Dalmi stood up and turned around to face the rest of the people in the room. 

“You all should go home and take the day off today. Ms. Won needs to get some rest.”

“What? No, I said that I am totally fine.” Injae protested, getting up from the floor while fixing her clothes.

“No, you are not. Stop being stubborn!” Dalmi said, raising her voice a bit more than she intended. “Don’t you agree with me?” Dalmi then asked Injae’s team.

One of the women came closer and took Injae’s hand in hers. 

“Ms. Won, it’s okay if we take a rest today, you have been working so hard lately there’s almost nothing we need to do. We can catch up later. You should get some rest.”

At the warmth of her words, Injae looked down, finally accepting Dalmi’s suggestion.

The four employees left the room, leaving Dalmi and Injae alone.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


What’s the most random thing you have ever seen early in the morning? For Jipyeong it was seeing Samsan Team dragging a man towards the entrance of the building. The old man was screaming something about his job, trying to shake the boys off. Fortunately, the guards came to help get him out. 

“This is insane, as if throwing her eggs wasn’t enough, he really tried to hit her with a monitor!” Jipyeong heard Yongsan saying.

“If we got there only a second later, things could have gone sooo wrong.” Chulsan commented too.

“She must have been really shocked.” Dosan added in a lower voice, a concerned expression in his face.

Hearing their words, he started to feel worried. Was someone attacked? 

“What happened?” Jipyeong approached them with big steps.

“Oh… Ms. Won had been attacked by that man as a protest. Because of Injae’s company AI solution.” Dosan told him.

_ Injae was attacked?  _

Before he even knew it, he was already heading towards the elevator quickly, but someone grabbed his arm preventing him from going further. Turning around, he met Dosan’s eyes.

“She’s okay, Mr. Han. She’s with Dalmi right now.” 

“But she was just  _ attacked _ ! What if she was really hurt?” Jipyeong asked freeing his arm from Dosan. 

Dosan had seen his mentor agitated and angry before but never had he expected him to be so worried about someone apart from Dalmi. 

“Ms. Won is okay, Mr. Han.” A voice from behind Dosan startled the two men. Jipyeong recognized her as the lady who worked for Injae. “Ms. Seo convinced her to take some rest today and let us go take our day off.”

It seemed like her presence calmed down Jipyeong a bit, or maybe it made him feel self-conscious for the fuss he was making, but when he spoke again, he was gentler.

“Oh… is that so? Then that’s good.” 

_ Yeah, why was I even thinking about going to see her. It would probably only make her feel worse... _

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Coming back with two cups of tea, Dalmi gave one to Injae and sat beside her.

“I brought this. It’s tea, it will help you relax.”

Injae hesitated at first but for the first time, she decided to listen to Dalmi and drank the hot infusion.

They stayed silent while Injae was blowing on the liquid and took small sips, trying not to burn her tongue.

Fidgeting in her seat, Dalmi tried hard to come up with a way to start her sentences. After their last exchange, Dalmi wanted to have a heart-to-heart conversation with her sister but never found the chance. She mustered the courage that morning but the most unexpected things happened and now there she was, sitting in an uncomfortable silence with Injae. How should she bring up the topic? In the end, she gave up and said the first thing that came to her mind.

“I’m sorry, Eonni.”

“It’s not your fault people decided to attack me.” Injae said, still focused on her drink.

“No, I wasn’t talking about that. I’m sorry for how I treated you before and for saying really mean things even though I didn’t know what you had to go through to be who you are right now. I never regretted choosing dad, but I did feel envious sometimes because you were doing so well and accomplished so many things… I could only soothe my jealousy thinking that it was all thanks to your step-father and his connections. But now I know you went through a lot and you got everything done by yourself. Sorry for discrediting all your hard work.” 

Dalmi said everything in a breath, her eyes firm on her sister’s. She did it. She let it out. And then Injae talked too.

“I think I should apologize too. For leaving you and dad behind. At that time, we were both still very young and tried to stop the divorce, remember? Going to dad’s office and everything.” Injae said with a sad note in her voice. “You were always kind-hearted but also naive while I was colder but also always busy thinking about the future. When dad asked for the divorce, I already knew who you were going to choose. So, I couldn’t leave mom all alone.

But everything went wrong. As she got remarried, we were to leave to move to The States, I started ignoring you and even said those awful words to you, expecting you to hate me so we could go our own ways, but I guess that wasn’t the best way to deal with it.”

Injae was looking down at her hands, a bitter smile on her face. That was one of the many things she regretted in her life.

“I always thought I had to endure everything on my own since I am the eldest between us, but I only ended up hurting you. I’m sorry.”

Getting no response from Dalmi, Injae rose her head, seeing Dalmi’s teary eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Eonni… I always blamed you for leaving me...”

Feeling the tears blurring her vision, Injae took Dalmi’s hands in hers.

“I’m sorry too, I didn’t even visit you during those 15 years.”

Their tears started running down their cheeks as they kept apologizing to each other for everything they regretted. The petty things they did, the things they didn’t do, the things they thought about each other, and for the things they never thought about.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“You should come home tomorrow for Chuseok. Halmeoni misses you, a lot.” Dalmi said while she tried to clean off Injae’s ruined mascara.

They had cried 15 years’ worth of tears that not even the greatest waterproof makeup could go against. As they were still in a public building and were sooner or later going to leave the office, with their puffy eyes and red noses, they came into one conclusion: there was absolutely no need to scare the sh*t out of anyone with their appearance. 

“Will it be okay if I go? I don’t want to bother you two. Yah Dalmi, stop moving.” Said Injae, trying her best to draw Dalmi’s eyeliner.

“Halmeoni prepared enough food for a whole week. If you don’t come, I’ll come to work rolling like a ball. Now  _ you _ stay still, I’m going to start drawing.”

Moments ago, they were all emotional and being honest with each other but now they were back at their bickering. The silence that fell upon them whenever they were too concentrated to speak was no longer uncomfortable anymore. 

Just when they finished, Dalmi received a message from someone of the Samsan trio. After joining them, she made sure to change their notification sounds so she could tell apart the messages of her teammates from others. Excusing herself, she got up and took out her phone to see if it was something important. 

It was Dosan.

**남도산:** _“Dalmi-ya, I met with Mr. Han in the hall. He seemed to be really worried about what happened with Ms. Won and wanted to go there but I stopped him because it looked like you two needed time alone. I don’t know if it was the correct thing to do, so I thought I had to tell you.”_

  
  
  


_ Oh right, Jipyeong. There was something between them, but I guess I kinda messed it up… Then I shall be the one to bring them back together.  _

  
  
  


**서달미:** _ “Thank you, I’ll take care of the rest.”  _

  
  
  


Putting her phone back in her pocket, she awkwardly turned around to Injae.

“There’s one more thing I wanted to talk about…” 

Injae tilted her head a bit, curious. Was there anything left to say?

“About Jipyeong…” Dalmi said in a lower voice, taking her seat again.

_ Oh. _

“I’m sorry for what I told you at the networking party… It’s not like I own him or something so I shouldn’t have said that. Don’t be too surprised but he was actually my penpal and then we met 6 years ago and he became my best friend and you know, I was all alone and I thought you had everything and… yeah, I was being a bit possessive. So basically, what I want to say is: you are free to do whatever you want with him.”

“Wait, he was your penpal?? And what do you expect me to do with him??” Injae asked, her voice raising a bit with each question. 

“I mean… be friends and those things…” Dalmi deadpanned.

Was Injae blushing?

“Oh, and also about the lie, hehe. Wow that was stupid even for me. Jipyeong was only helping me because I asked him. I was the one who came up with it. I don’t know if you two talked about it or not, but please, don’t be too hard on him.” Dalmi added, remembering how Jipyeong was sulking, with his eyes fixed on his phone screen just because her sister blocked him.

Injae looked at Dalmi silently. Even though she was very angry at first and then she had been ignoring him for so long, she always knew he wasn’t  _ actually _ a bad person. His acts showed how much he did care for her. He even kept nagging her when she was feeling unwell despite how much she tried to push him away that day.

Could they be friends again after the hurtful words she said to him? 

Because of the lack of response from Injae, Dalmi thought she was still hesitant to forgive Jipyeong, so she tried to explain more about him.

“I mean, he never wanted to lie to you. He didn’t even know you were my sister before meeting you at the party.”

“What?? You haven’t told him who your sister was... during all these 15 years!?” Injae was suddenly brought back from her thoughts, dumbfounded.

“Why would I? I mean, I  _ did _ talk about you but I never mentioned your name…” Dalmi said half laughing, realizing how ridiculously funny this situation was.

“Wah, I can’t believe you, Seo Dalmi.” Injae said, a smile escaping her lips.

Seeing that her sister was already feeling better, Dalmi stood up. 

“Give me your jacket, I'm going to wash it for you. If you keep those eggs on your jacket, it won’t take too much until we have chickens here.”

  
  


Injae rolled her eyes at Dalmi’s words but took off her jacket as her sister told her. When Dalmi left the room, she smiled to herself. She never would have imagined this day would come, the day she could talk with her sister just like 15 years ago, sharing their problems and also bickering. She really missed it.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Everybody in Sandbox was already back at their work, quickly forgetting the incident. Everybody besides Senior Manager of SH Venture, Han Jipyeong. She wasn’t hurt, right?  _ Was she still shocked? But Dalmi was with her already, would it be too creepy to go and check things out? _ A train of thoughts ran in circles in his mind. ‘Focus’ was something he long lost after meeting Won Injae and today, it was a word that he was starting to forget.

_ Should I send her a text? _

Just as if Dalmi had read his mind, a message from her came, almost making him drop his phone. 

**서달미:** _“Jipyeong-ah, I need your help! Eonni isn’t feeling well! Come to her office, please!”_

It took him no time to get to Injae Company’s office, opening the door without even knocking.

“Is Ms. Won okay??” He was still catching his breath, looking around the room to find Dalmi, but only Injae was there, behind her desk.

“I… am?” Injae answered, wondering why he came in such a hurry. Was he worried about her?

“Oh… I- I heard what happened. Then you are okay, right?” His cheeks started blushing, slowly putting the puzzle pieces together.

“Yes, I’m fine…” Injae bit her lower lip, feeling the awkwardness between them.

“O-Okay, that’s all that matters…” 

As Jipyeong was busy evading her eyes because of the embarrassment he was feeling, he missed the way her surprised face turned into a softer one. They had been avoiding each other for more than 3 weeks already but what he said just now, once again, melted her frozen heart a little bit.

“I thought Dalmi was here with you.” Jipyeong was now in the middle of her office, his eyes were still scanning the room. 

“She just went to get my jacket cleaned, you know, the egg…”

He took out his phone to check on the message Dalmi sent him. She did ask him for his help. 

_ So I was indeed tricked by Dalmi. _

Before he could put his phone back in his pocket, his screen lit up, catching his attention. Speaking of the devil, there she was again.

**서달미:** _“I already cleared the misunderstanding with Eonni, now you can go and do your thing_ 😉👉🏻 _”_

_ DO MY WHAT? _

He reread Dalmi’s message. What did she want him to do!?

“Did you run here?” Injae suddenly asked.

Comically jumping a little bit, Jipyeong remembered he was not alone there. 

“Me?”

“Yeah, your ID card… is turned around.” She said, gesturing at his shoulder. 

“Oh… yes.” He fixed his ID card hastily and cleared his throat. 

They were once again silent but thankfully, an incoming message on Injae’s phone saved them from more minutes of awkwardness. Injae excused herself and unblocked her screen to see who her savior was. 

  
  
  


**서달미:** _“Something came up. Don’t wait for me to come back. I’ll give you back your jacket tomorrow.”_

  
  
  


If the evil worked hard, Dalmi worked harder. It wasn’t too difficult for Injae to understand what happened there. 

  
  
  


However, Jipyeong didn’t know, so when he saw the faces she was making and her reaction overall, he thought she may have received some stressful news. 

“Do you want to go out with me?” Jipyeong said without thinking twice, trying to suggest something that could help her feel better. But seeing that Injae only raised her eyebrows and blinked at him, he realized a bit too late. “T-to go  _ outside _ with me. To get some fresh air! It must feel suffocating here.”

He was actually the one who looked like he was feeling suffocated, seeing how red his face was turning. 

“O-oh, yeah, I knew you meant that.” Injae answered a bit flustered too. 

_ What should I do?  _

_ Getting some fresh air doesn’t sound too bad after everything that happened today. _

“It seems like Dalmi is not coming back so… why not?”

She got up from her office chair, picked up her purse, and made her way to the door that Jipyeong already opened. He waited for her to close the door behind with her keys and then they left together.

  
  
  


Everything in this world has a start and they started as each other’s wrong blind date. 

  
  


Things didn’t go smoothly.

  
  
  
  
  


But who knows.

  
  
  
  
  


Maybe they can give it another try.

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again! How was the chapter?  
> We are already half through the story! I hope you all liked it so far. I never expected it to reach so many of you 🥺  
> I’m really thankful for all the support I have been receiving both here and even on Tw.  
> I’ll keep doing my best in the next chapters 💪🏻😊  
> See you again this Sunday ❤️


	11. Back to square one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A chapter about second chances.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second arc of the story finished in the previous episode and now we are entering a new one.
> 
> Please enjoy the reading 🥰

On the day before Chuseok, also known as Mid Autumn festival, Dalmi was waiting for someone outside of a very popular brunch café.

The leaves of the trees that were once green were now gradually turning yellow, welcoming the new season. Short sleeves were being replaced by longer ones and the bright colors of people’s clothes turned into warmer tones.

“Dalmi-ya, have you been waiting for a long time?”

After leaving Injae’s office the day before, Dalmi tried washing off the egg stains from the jacket but it turned out to be more difficult than she imagined. Instead of wasting her time on the clothing, she pulled some strings to make her sister meet Jipyeong, hoping for them to make up.

The jacket was only a smaller problem she easily solved back at home, with Halmeoni’s secret stain-removing trick. 

Since their misunderstandings were cleared, she quickly texted her sister so they could meet the next morning and have brunch together. 

“Eonni! I also just got there.” Dalmi said with a bright smile on her face. “Let’s go in! I can’t wait to taste the French Menu!”

  
  
  
  
  


Sitting next to the window, the sisters enjoyed the food they ordered. The French Menu Dalmi ordered came with a French toast with fruits and cream cheese while Injae ordered the Brooklyn Menu that consisted of a freshly baked bagel with avocado, grilled eggs, tomato, bacon and mozzarella. Their menus were served with a cup of coffee, orange juice and to add the final touch, a portion of a cake of their choice.

They both reached for their phones to take pictures of their food and also helped each other to take the “casually having brunch with my sister” picture. 

“Did you have fun yesterday?” Injae asked, taking a bite of her bagel.

Dalmi raised an eyebrow, not knowing what Injae wanted to say. She drew the straw of her juice glass to her lips, sending her sister a questioning look.

“Setting me up with Mr. Han.”

Hearing her sister’s implication, Dalmi slightly choked on her drink, coughing a bit until her throat was clear.

“Was it too obvious? Do you think Jipyeong noticed too?”

Rolling her eyes, Injae also drank from her glass.

“It could be seen from a mile, my dear sister.”

Dalmi laughed at Injae’s sarcasm but kept eating.

“Then how did it go? Did you clear things up?”

Injae stayed silent for some minutes, hesitant about what to tell Dalmi.

“Not much.” Injae was looking at her food, still pondering over what happened. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


It was around noon when Jipyeong and Injae left her office. Despite Dalmi’s effort to clear Jipyeong’s name and their misunderstanding, that conversation still needed to happen between the two people involved. But it didn’t. 

They made their way to the outside as awkward as possible and had small talks, but never got to the important point.

Since both of them knew that Dalmi intervened, neither of them knew how to bring up the subject.

By the time Injae was done with their indecisiveness, suddenly Mr. Park came looking for Jipyeong, telling him he was needed back in his office.

And so, Injae was left alone to go back home.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


They were enjoying their cakes when Dalmi brought up the next subject.

“Do you have any plans prepared for tomorrow?”

“Nothing special I can think of.” She didn’t have work to do and she wasn’t planning on visiting her mother any time soon. Yes, she was going to be all alone on a festive day.

“Then come over for Chuseok. I wasn’t joking yesterday. I’ll send you my address.”

“Fine...do you need me to bring something?” 

“Don’t worry, just bring yourself. We’ll be preparing songpyeongs so if you want to come earlier in the morning, it would be better.”

Injae finished eating the last portion of her cake and started picking up her stuff.

“Are you leaving already, Eonni?” Dalmi asked confused and hurried up, and also finished her cake.

“Yes, I have an appointment so I need to go.”

Once they were out, Dalmi gave Injae her jacket back. “Then see you tomorrow, I guess.” She said, trying to hide her disappointment the best she could.

Injae smiled apologetically. “Yes. I had fun today. See you.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“I can't believe she just left me like that.” Dalmi said out loud, pouty. She had been wandering around since she parted ways with her sister. It’s not like she didn’t have anything better to do but she kinda expected to spend more time with her now that they were on better terms. Still thinking about what to do until she wanted to go back home, she bumped into someone so she quickly apologized. “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you… Oh, Dosan-ah?”

“Dalmi-ya.” The engineer looked at her a bit flustered. Today he had his hair down, hiding his forehead. He was wearing his very comfortable checked shirt and ripped jeans. Since he joined Sandbox, he has tried to wear more formal clothes. She was also wearing casual clothes. A white blouse under a thin beige jacket and high-waisted pants. She looked effortlessly beautiful. 

“What are you doing here?” He managed to say. 

“Oh, I was dumped.”

Dosan opened his eyes surprised . He didn’t know Dalmi was dating someone.

“By my sister. We just met some moments ago to have brunch but as soon as she finished, she left. Can you believe that? So I’m just taking a walk.” Dalmi continued talking. 

“O-oh, it was your sister…” He said, embarrassed by his thoughts. 

“What are you doing here?” Now it was Dalmi’s turn to ask.

“I’m buying some ingredients for tomorrow” Dosan fidgeted with his hands. “If you don’t have anything important to do now, do you want to join me?”

She looked at him surprised, not expecting his suggestion but she soon showed him a sweet smile. “I would love to!”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


_ What should I wear for tomorrow? _

Injae had been staring at her wardrobe for a while now. It was a family getting but it was a special day. She should look pretty but she didn’t want to look like she tried too hard. It also should be comfortable since they would be making food. 

She decided to go with a brown colored shirt. Thinking about the cold nights, she was about to take THE jacket but then she stopped just before even touching it. In the 3 years she stayed in San Francisco, she wore that jacket whenever she was going out for dinner or meetings with her co-workers. But she was not in The States anymore and more importantly, she was going to Dalmi’s house. Dalmi knew him for so many years, so maybe she would recognize that jacket. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


And thank God she didn’t wear it. When she rang the bell the next day, it wasn’t either Dalmi or Halmeoni who opened the door for her. It was a man in his thirties, wearing a cute pink apron. And she knew him. 

“Mr. Han!?” 

_ I think I came to the wrong house. _

He was just as surprised as her so before even thinking about what he was doing, he slammed the door closed.

_ Why is she here?? Oh right, since they made up yesterday it was only normal if she came. _

“Did Injae arrive?” Halmeoni screamed from the kitchen. Jipyeong quickly took off the apron, hiding it behind his back and opened the door again.

In front of him stood Injae. He didn’t have the time to see her properly when he closed the door hastily but now he did. She cut her hair. Her long hair that almost reached her waist was gone and now it ended right below her chin, leaving her long neck exposed. She looked beautiful. 

“Uhm… hi. Welcome.” He said a bit embarrassed because of his reaction.

“Mmm… thanks.” 

Jipyeong let her in awkwardly, closing the door behind him. Looking at her surroundings, Injae decided to start taking off her shoes instead of standing there doing nothing. Lifting her head, she glanced at Jipyeong, who was still here. 

The tall man was wearing a white mao collar shirt, and black dressing pants. She thought she saw wrong before but then, pink straps were showing from behind him.

“Um… It looked good on you.” She commented, gesturing at the apron he was hiding, trying to make things less uncomfortable. But it had the opposite effect seeing how Jipyeong was blushing hard. 

_ That’s a cute reaction. _

“Injae-ya, is it you?” Halmeoni called her.

She quickly straightened herself up and followed her grandma’s voice.

Dalmi’s house was bigger than she had expected. It was warm and it had cozy vibes. Getting in the kitchen, she finally met the older woman. She still looked the same, only small hints of those 15 years were visible on her wrinkled skin.

“Hello Halmeoni…”

“Oh, Injae! It’s nice to finally see you after all this time. I see you have grown very beautifully! Have you been eating well? You look so slim.”

Halmeoni asked all those questions, not even letting her answer them, getting close to Injae to see her properly, and caressing her face carefully.

_ So it was true, what Dalmi told me…  _

“Halmeoni… I’m sorry…” Injae’s voice trembled as her eyes were filled with tears. 

Seeing her beautiful granddaughter crying broke her heart. Halmeoni gave her a warm hug and they stayed like that until Injae calmed down.

Dalmi came down from her bedroom after hearing the small commotion. Halmeoni and Injae were hugging each other while crying and meanwhile, Jipyeong was standing some meters away, witnessing the very touching scene. But Dalmi was more worried about another thing.

“Omg Eonni, what are you going to do if you cry right after coming??”

Halmeoni let Injae go and looked at her with tender eyes only to meet her puffy eyes.

“Omo, my girl you look like a panda.”

Injae blushed slightly, lowering her head a bit. She had been a lot more emotional lately. She had been so lonely that she forgot what it felt like to be vulnerable and have someone by her side. Everything started changing after she met him.

“Mmm… Eonni, you better come with me and get your makeup retouched.”

It didn’t take them too long since Injae was actually already prepared. She knew she was probably going to cry, and tried not to put on too much mascara today.

When the two sisters came back, someone rang the bell again.

“Are we expecting someone else?” Injae asked, a bit confused. Dalmi averted her eyes from Injae and looked at Halmeoni.

Halmeoni left her place and went to open the door. Injae totally didn’t expect her to come. Her mother. As Halmeoni let her in, the room was filled with tension.

“Hello, Injae-ya…”

Injae was shocked but she was more worried about her sister and grandma. Why weren’t they reacting like her? 

“Let me explain.” Halmeoni said with a sigh.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


It was probably three weeks ago. Halmeoni was going back home after a long day of work. She was tired but after a whole day of not moving from the tiny corn dog stall, she wanted to take a small walk, so she always took a bus back and got down a stop earlier.

On her way home, there was a 24-hours convenience store. There were always young students working there so when she saw an older woman instead, she was surprised.

Squinting her eyes, she tried to get a better look of her. Why did she look so familiar? 

But before she could remember, she got a phone call from Dalmi, so she went back home, not giving it too many thoughts.

But it happened again the next day, and the next one and all the following days. Since her eyesight was getting worse day by day and her memory was failing her, she just went back home intrigued by who that person may be.

And that’s when the 14th of September arrived. She only worked until noon and was back at home early in the afternoon, preparing dinner. When Dalmi came back, she was carrying many bags with ingredients for the next day.

“Eonni said she’s coming tomorrow, Halmeoni!” Dalmi said while she was putting everything where it belonged.

“Really? Then I have to go and buy some tteokbokki! Injae loved them when she was younger.” Halmeoni took off her apron and looked for her purse.

“More? We already bought some since Jipyeong is coming!” 

“You know that Good Boy can eat all that tteokbokki alone. Let 's go!”

  
  


Knowing that the closest store was the one where the unknown woman worked, Halmeoni decided to go there. But when they were only meters away, she saw that woman outside with two men and a black car parked not too far away.

“I don’t want to go back!” The woman shouted.

Hearing her voice, Dalmi furrowed her brows. 

“Mom??”

“Your mother?” Halmeoni looked at Dalmi. Of course it was her! How could he forget the face of the woman who abandoned her child. But now was not the moment to think about that.

The older man grabbed Ah-hyun by her wrist and started dragging her to the car. 

“Come with me and get in the car while I’m being nice.” He said in a lower voice, trying to not draw too much attention. 

“What if I refuse? Are you going to hit me again?” Ah-hyun shouted, trying to shake him off unsuccessfully.

Before things could get worse, Halmeoni intervened.

“Yah, what do you think you are doing?!” Shouted Halmeoni, swinging the empty shopping bags at the man who ungracefully dodged them, almost tripping with his own foot. 

“Who are you?”

“Me? I’m her ex-mother-in-law, do you have a problem? Get out of here before I beat you to a pulp.”

“Eomma! Let me call the police.” Dalmi said, looking at chairman Won. 

The man was unsure at first, but after seeing Dalmi, he quickly retreated with Sangsu behind him.

  
  
  
  
  
  


“Thank you for helping me…” Ah-hyun said looking at Dalmi and the woman who had once been her mother-in-law.

After her current husband and son drove off, Dalmi and Halmeoni accompanied her to a nearby park. 

  
  


She had explained to them that the day Injae left her home after throwing a fit, she tried to look for her but was unable to track her down. Because of that and the humiliation he felt during the meeting, her husband lost a bit of his control. And therefore, the next day, she prepared her suitcase with everything she had of value and left like her daughter did.

As she had been living off her husband, she didn’t need to earn her own money but knowing she may find herself in this situation, she had prepared some cash beforehand.

With her savings and selling all her jewellery and expensive brand clothes, she had enough money to pay the rent of a small apartment. 

She also desperately looked for a job and it just happened that they were looking for someone who could immediately start working in the 24 hours convenience store so she gladly took what she could.

  
  


Dalmi was having mixed feelings over meeting her mother. She had always resented her for bringing up the divorce first and then leaving her, but as she grew up and recently talked things out with Injae, she understood that sometimes people were bound to have different opinions and handled situations in different ways. 

And knowing that, just like Injae, her mother hadn’t always been living a happy life, she couldn’t help but feel bad for her.

_ What does Halmeoni think about this?  _

  
  


Seeing that they didn’t respond, Ah-hyun continued talking, this time with an apology.

“I’m so sorry for leaving you and your father. I’m really ashamed for what I did and I’m not expecting you to forgive me or anything like that."

“I also don’t think I would be able to forgive you so easily after everything that happened. You will always remind me of my poor son and it tears me apart...” Halmeoni said. Hearing that, Dalmi’s mother only lowered her head.

“But the past won’t change. So now the only thing you can do is take care of your daughters properly.” Halmeoni added. “Maybe then you will be able to pay back the things you regret.”

Ah-hyun only nodded. She didn’t expect more than this. When she was about to get up from the bench and leave, Halmeoni talked one more time.

“Drop by tomorrow at our house and let’s celebrate Chuseok together, as we used to.”

“Thanks, mother.” 

  
  
  
  
  


Injae was surprised to know everything that happened to her mother since the last time they met. She even felt a bit guilty for leaving her alone with her step-dad. He had always been a bit manipulative and did shady things but she never expected him to lift a hand on her mother. 

Sitting together on the couch, they talked it out calmly.

It was awkward at first, especially for Jipyeong who had nothing to do with this, but soon the tense atmosphere disappeared and they started making songpyeon. 

They were all sitting on the mat in the living room, learning how to wrap in the sweet sesame seeds and how to give the rice cake the characteristic form of this traditional dish. Being a fast learner, Jipyeong made the first one, small and cute. He proudly showed Halmeoni, like a kid would. 

As Halmeoni praised him, he looked at his sides to see how the sisters were doing. 

Unlike what he expected from Injae, she was struggling a bit. She had always been a brilliant student, with the best grades and easily learning multiple languages BUT arts and crafts were never her forte. 

“I don’t think this is how it is supposed to look like…” Injae murmured looking at the abstract figure she just created. She put it on the tray and looked at it, her brows furrowing. There was definitely something wrong. It looked more like a banana than a half shaped moon. 

“L-let me help you…” Jipyeong offered, taking a small piece of dough and placing it on her hand. “Let’s start by making a ball and then make a well in it. Yeah, don’t press too hard.” 

Injae followed his instructions, feeling a bit self-conscious as his eyes never left her hands. 

“This much will be enough.” He said, placing ½ teaspoon of sesame seed in the well. “Now you only have to seal it.”

And she did as he said. The next step was to roll it to smooth out the surface. It started taking the correct shape.

When she finished pinching the sides of her songpyeon, it actually looked pretty nice.

“I think I did it.” She said, her eyes big opened. But when she turned to Jipyeong to show it to him and met his eyes, she finally realized how close they were.

She quickly looked away, just as he did.

“I ALSO DID IT!” 

Thankfully their awkwardness didn’t last too long, since Dalmi finally finished, and hers was just as big as her heart, making the whole room laugh when Jipyeong put the one he finished next to Dalmi’s. They looked more like the sun and the moon.

The three of them continued making songpyeons, teasing Dalmi from time to time whenever hers turned out a lot bigger than theirs, while Ah-hyun and Halmeoni started making dinner. The table never had been so full, numerous colorful plates displaying different traditional Chuseok recipes. 

It was such a special day. Jipyeong would never feel thankful enough for having the opportunity of eating with a family like his own. And he could tell that Injae and her mother were also feeling similarly. It’s been a long time for them since they last spent Chuseok like this.

“Where are you living now?” Ah-hyun asked Injae. She deboned a fish and gave the meat to Injae and Dalmi, just like she did when they were only kids.

“I also got myself an apartment.” She said not going too much into details, eating the food her mother placed in her plate.

“Oh, then we should hold a housewarming party!” Dalmi suggested, her eyes shining with excitement.

“I have been living there for almost a whole month, Dalmi.” Injae rolled her eyes.

“Uh, I don’t care. You just moved into a new apartment so we are having a party anyway.” 

Their bickering continued during the whole dinner but it only made it more lively. After filling up their stomachs, Jipyeong, Injae and Dalmi volunteered to wash the dishes, to let Halmeoni and Ah-hyun rest.

It took them no time to finish, with Jipyeong washing them, Injae rinsing them and Dalmi drying them. They had great teamwork.

The afternoon didn’t end there. Taking out the cards, they also played many rounds of Go-Stop, but most of the time, the older women won them. 

Only laughter could be heard from the Seo household that day.

  
  
  
  
  
  


“Eonnie you should come more often.” Dalmi said.

“Yes, don't overwork yourself and come by to have lunch together with your grandma.” Halmeoni added, squishing her arm affectionately.

“Alright, I’ll drop by from time to time. Thanks for having me today.”

She finished putting on her shoes and waited for her mother to do so as well.

“Take care of yourself too, Ah-hyun. Dalmi already gave you my phone number, so call me if you want to come and have dinner together.” 

“Call us if anything bad happens again.” 

“Thank you. I will try not to bother you too much.” Said Ah-hyun sincerely.

After hugging each other, they were finally ready to go.

“Then we will be leaving.” 

But when Halmeoni saw the pitch dark sky after opening the door, she took a look at her phone, and saw the time.

“Omo, it’s already this late! Good boy, can you drive Injae and her mother back?” Halmeoni said. 

Injae was about to politely reject the idea but Jipyeong bet her on that.

“Of course.” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Stopping his car in front of Injae’s apartment, they came out of the car and stood there awkwardly. During the time her mother spent in the car on the way to her home, they had been talking about this and that, but the moment she left, silence fell upon the two of them.

“Ehm… about the lie…” Jipyeong started talking, not really sure what he wanted to say. He knew that thanks to Dalmi, Injae was probably no longer angry with him but he wanted them to talk it out. Despite the fun he had this day, there wasn’t a moment he didn’t spend thinking how to bring up this subject and how to clear it up. Now that they were alone, he expected his mind to come up with something but it didn’t happen.

“It’s okay, everything was a misunderstanding.” Injae tried to dismiss. 

“It's not okay! No matter what the reasons were, lying was not the right thing to do…” 

The night was colder as each day passed but for some reason, she felt warm. 

“I did feel a bit humiliated at first and I just hit rock bottom so everything piled up. But since it was actually something between Dalmi and me, things are okay now. Thanks for apologizing. Again.” Injae said, with a reassuring smile. 

Seeing her dimpled smile, he finally relaxed and smiled back. 

“Thanks for forgiving me.” 

“Then are we good now?” 

“I’m good if you are.”

Injae blushed a bit, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“Fine, thanks for the ride.”

Turning around, she was about to leave, when he called her name.

“Wait Injae-ssi!” She looked back at him, curious. 

“It looks good on you, your new hair style. I didn’t get the chance to tell you before.” He said with another beautiful smile. His dimples looked even deeper but she wasn’t sure if it had anything to do with the streetlamp’s light that shone on him.

She felt her cheeks getting hotter, just like her ears. 

How did he manage to compliment her so nonchalantly? Wait, was this his counterattack for the apron thing? 

  
  


“Mmmm, thanks.” 

Watching her all flustered, he felt the same way he did a month ago, outside of a café, putting on her the jacket that once belonged to him. He was so happy she forgave him.

Watching her slowly turning around again to leave, he remembered one last thing that had been bothering him, so he called her name one more time.

“Injae-ssi! Just one last thing.”

Injae sent him a puzzled look, waiting for him to continue. 

“It’s important, I promise.” He said in a hurry. Was she getting annoyed with him? 

  
  
  
  


_ This is going to sound so pathetic. _

  
  
  
  


After getting her full attention back, he scratched the back of his neck and laughed awkwardly.

  
  
  
  
  


“Can you please unblock me?” 

  
  
  
  


That was something she didn’t expect. Did he really stop her from going home at this hour of the night just to ask her to unblock him? 

A chuckle escaped her lips. That tingling sound made Jipyeong feel butterflies in his stomach. 

“Sure.” 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! How did you feel about this chapter?  
> Did you miss our main couple? 👀
> 
> . . .
> 
> Some side notes:  
> Last Sunday I mentioned about a surprise I wanted to show you today but I don’t think I can finish it on time.  
> It was first a Valentine’s gift and now my birthday gift for you (Yeah, my sis’ bd was on 17th and now it’s mine hahah) but I’ll just drop it on Twitter when it’s done. I guess I overestimated myself hahaha 😂😂😂
> 
> . . . 
> 
> Thank you again for reading my story!  
> I’m going to go back on posting weekly since I need to start with my uni work, so let’s meet again next Sunday 🥰


	12. Closer to you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s never too late to make up for the time they lost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry I posted this chapter so late 🙏🏻  
> A small warning: this is a long chapter and it is full of 💕 fluff 💕  
> Please, enjoy the reading ❤️

The calm days ended the moment the weekend started. The workers that were to be fired by Haun Construction & Engineering started a strike against Injae Company’s solution and furthermore there were even tabloids spreading ugly rumors about Injae and writing malicious posts. 

  
  


_ Won Injae against the rights of the working class. _

  
  


_ Haun C&E’s workers were fired because of Injae Company. _

  
  


_ What could have been expected from a young CEO. _

  
  


But Injae was not alone, and even Sandbox stepped up to lend her help to take legal actions against the tabloid writers and every spiteful comment that was found under their posts. 

Haun C&E also collaborated when she asked for a meeting to make some changes in their contract so they could appease the soon-to-be unemployed workers. In this continuously changing world, it was inevitable to make progress but Injae also understood the fear of those who were slower at adapting. They decided to wait longer before implanting Injae Company’s solution so the workers could get enough time to find jobs, with recommendations from the higher ups. Not everyone was happy with their new conditions but there was nothing else they could do.

  
  
  
  
  
  


The September equinox arrived or in shorter words, it was finally autumn. Things calmed down a bit after Injae Company and Haun C&E made those changes in their contract. The false rumors were also taken down and a public apology was released. 

Pressing the elevator’s button, Injae waited for it to come. When the doors opened and she got in, she heard footsteps getting closer in a hurry. She pressed the “open” button at the same time a pair of hands stopped the doors from closing completely.

“Uh, good morning Ms. Won.” Han Jipyeong said with a smile, trying to catch his breath. “How’s everything?”

“Good morning, Mr Han. Things calmed down a bit for now.”

“Need help suing someone?”

For the last few days, he had been very worried about her. She was a strong woman, so she dealt with her problems on her own, and he knew she was capable of that and more. But the stress was visible in her tired eyes and stiff figure. So, the only thing he did was give her small talks. It seems like it worked, seeing how her tensed shoulders relaxed and a smile was placed on her face. She let out a snort at Jipyeong’s antics.

“Pfff, thanks for the offer, I’ll take it into consideration if things go out of hand. How have you been?” 

“Doing fine, nothing special happened.” Jipyeong shrugged. 

Before their conversation could continue, the doors opened on Injae’s office’s floor. Leaving the small space, she turned back to him with a smile.

“See you later.” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Not too far away from Injae Company’s office was Samsan Tech’s. The developers were busy working on the efficiency of their program. Many users left comments about how the app spent too much of the phone battery, so the trio was trying to come up with a solution. Saha and Dalmi were also working on Noongil, the first one thinking about better designs for the interface of the app to improve the accessibility and the later one was taking notes of the things they still needed to check on. 

Noongil was important, but nothing topped lunch time. The moment Chulsan’s stomach grumbled, they paused their work and started getting up to eat. However, their CEO didn’t move an inch. 

“Aren’t you coming, CEO Seo?” Asked Saha, already by the door.

“I’ll catch up later. I still have some things to finish.” 

“Okay then, you know where to find us.”

“Yeah, see you in a moment.”

  
  


When the door closed behind her teammates, Dalmi finally let her head rest on her palms. She then looked back at her monitor, reading the comment once again. It was from a user, thanking them for creating the program and relating the regrets she had because her daughter lost her vision at a young age, when she was still too busy to show her how beautiful the world was. Now that she had the time and the resources, she could only do it thanks to Noongil. 

The story was really touching, and it hit close to home since Halmeoni and she didn’t have the money to go on trips and now that she finally saved enough money, her condition was starting to worsen. Trying to comfort the user, she also left a comment, talking about her own regrets.

She didn’t want her team to see her vulnerable like she was right now, her tears falling non-stop from her eyes and her nose all red. At least she was alone...

But then, the door suddenly opened and Dosan entered and only stopped when Dalmi jumped on her seat. 

“Sorry, did I scare you? I came back to get my phone… Dalmi, are you okay?” Dosan got his phone and put it on his back pocket but concern showed on his face when he heard her sobbing and saw her flushed face.

Dalmi quickly wiped away her tears but they just wouldn’t stop so she turned around.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want you to see me like this… I probably look like a clown right now.”

“Don’t apologize, you always look good.” He blurted as always as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He carefully got closer, giving her a napkin. “Is everything fine?”

“Yeah, I just got a bit too emotional while reading some comments.”

Dosan approached her and looking at the screen, he read the comment. It had been almost a month since they discovered about Halmeoni’s condition and despite the happiness over the creation of Noongil, he knew that there wasn’t a day Dalmi didn’t worry about her grandma. Was there anything else he could do to make her happy?

An idea came across his mind and without giving it too much thought, he said it aloud.

“Dalmi-ya, let’s go on a trip.”

“What?” She looked at him with her confused eyes, still swollen from crying.

“You and Halmeoni should go on a trip and make some memories together so you won’t regret in the future.” 

“I’m not sure, Dosan-ah…” Could she just go on a trip like this?

“We could all go together! So we can celebrate that NoonGil was a success and to pay for all your efforts.” Dosan continued trying to convince her.

Seeing his efforts to cheer her up, she could only smile. He had only been sweet and supportive all along. She felt her heart warm up to his words. “It was not me but  _ us _ . We made it together and it was you who came with the idea and you know I’ll be always grateful. Alright, let’s do it!”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


At the end of the day, Dalmi was feeling so much better. It had been a long time since she had a field trip, not to even mention going together with Halmeoni and her friends. She still needed to talk about it with Jipyeong and Injae. 

Leaving her office, she tried to think about an effective way to convince them. She knew Jipyeong spent most of his time on work-related things and that Injae was also another workaholic. How was she going to drag them out of their offices?

Thankfully, she didn’t have to pull her hair out thinking as her answer just magically appeared in front of her. He was busy getting some instant coffees from a vending machine that powered every employee of the floor. She knew he only left his office at this time to go home, so why was he buying two cups of coffee? Why two? 

  
  
  


_ Oh. _

  
  
  


“Hi, Jipyeong. What are you doing here?”

“Hello. I was…” He looked around nervously, trying to look for an excuse. “I was buying some coffee for Ms. Yoon, yeah.”

“Okay...” Dalmi said suspiciously. “Anyways, I came to tell you that we are going on a field trip! All Samsan Tech, Halmeoni, mom, Eonni and you. Well, I haven’t told Eonni yet, but she is coming too. It’s going to be this weekend.”

Jipyeong eyed her as if she was not in her right mind. “That’s a strange mix.”

“I know, but Dosan suggested the idea and we thought that it would be great to make some memories with Halmeoni. And things have been quite stressful these days for Eonni too… Please?”

  
  


He wanted to refuse at first, but at the mention of Halmeoni and Injae, he thought about it a bit longer. Maybe it would be good for everyone to relax a bit…

“Okay, I’m in.”

“Great, then I leave it to you to come up with something to persuade Eonni. See you later!” Sending him a knowing wink, she flew away before Jipyeong could protest.

  
  
  


Dalmi did it once again.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“I see you are still here.” 

When Injae lifted her head, she met Jipyeong’s eyes. He was slightly leaning against the doorframe of her office, his hands busied with two cardboard cups. The dim lights of the room made his facial features softer and his dimples deeper. Unfortunately, she was too busy to appreciate that view for longer than 30 seconds, so she soon turned her attention back at her computer.

“Yes, I have some things I have to get done for tomorrow. All those additional changes in the contract are giving me a headache...”

“I thought so. I brought you some coffee.” He reached her desk, leaving the cup there. 

“Thanks.” Taking the coffee, she felt herself getting warm instantly. It was getting colder day by day.

Jipyeong scanned the room and got closer to the blinds, closing them and then turned on the lights.

“I was also going to stay and get some work done, mind if I join you?”

“No problem.”

  
  
  
  
  
  


The hours passed by slowly as they silently worked on their own things. The coffee cups were long empty when Jipyeong finally got up from his seat. The clock that hung on the wall marked 9:47. It was late.

“Would you like to go and have dinner together? It’s pretty late already.” He asked her after he finished picking up his stuff.

“I’ll pass, I still have many things I have to do…” Injae eyes were glued to the screen of her computer, her fingers still rhythmically tapping the keyboard. 

“That’s why you should stop for a while. You are going to work better with your stomach full.”

“I’m not hungry.”

  
  
  


_ Grrr _ .

  
  
  


That was her stomach. Not only the sound betrayed her but also the way she suddenly stopped and how her ears turned red.

Jipyeong couldn’t hold his laughter and chuckled. 

“It looks like your stomach doesn’t think the same.”

Clearing her throat, she closed the windows she had opened on her navigator and turned off the computer.

“I guess it won’t hurt to eat something.” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


All that could be heard at the restaurant was the chattering of the customers and the sizzling sound of the meat on the grill. Jipyeong suggested they go to a Korean BBQ restaurant so here she was, seated in front of him, watching how he cut the long piece of meat into smaller pieces, placing them one by one, and turning them around just when they started getting a goldish color. 

On their table there were different sets of meats, some lettuces, and other extra ingredients to make meat wraps, along with their drinks. It has actually been a long time since Injae ate BBQ, probably the last time she did it was 15 years ago. And so she told him how she felt nostalgic there and he gladly listened to her story. At the same time he listened, he was trying to find a way to get to  _ the _ subject, but when he finished grilling the last plate of meat, there was almost no time left. 

“Dalmi wants to go on a field trip with Halmeoni and your mom this weekend.” He blurted out of nowhere.

“Suddenly?” She let down her chopsticks, looking puzzled. 

“Yes, she just told me when she was leaving. All Samsan Tech is joining.” He continued talking, trying his best to not sound awkward. 

_ Mmmmm, what does this have to do with me? _

He studied her face. She continued eating, absolutely not expecting what he was about to say. 

“And we are going too.” 

“ _ You _ are going too? With them?” Injae asks, confused. He wasn’t implying what she thought, right? 

“Yeah, I am. And you are coming too. We are going together.” 

The piece of meat she was about to eat fell on her plate before reaching her lips. 

“Me? Who said that??”

“Your dear sister, Dalmi.”

“I don’t know… things have been pretty hectic these days...” She ran her fingers through her hair, mentally listing everything she needed to check on before going back to her normal routine. “I’m still surprised you convinced me to come have dinner together.”

He raised an eyebrow at her, a small smirk on his lips. Taking a lettuce, he started putting in the piece of meat that fell from her chopsticks.

“Thanks for having me tonight, I guess. But that’s why you should take it easy. You have been so stressed these days. I was against it too at first but it won’t hurt us to give it a try.”

He finished the wrap with some slices of onion, a small piece of garlic, and a tiny spoon of sauce.

He handed it to Injae so naturally that, as she was lost in her thoughts, she took it and ate it not realizing what just happened between them both.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The weekdays passed peacefully, welcoming the long-awaited Saturday. Injae had woken up that morning especially early and prepared herself for the trip. In her backpack, she put some spare clothes, sunscreen, a small pouch with some makeup, some basic and essential toiletries and a bottle of water. 

By the time she got ready and decided to leave her apartment, Jipyeong was already waiting for her. For some reason, Injae was expecting to see him wearing his characteristic formal suit, his plain shirts and dressing pants to the beach. So, seeing that Jipyeong was instead wearing a white tee under a denim jacket, with his usual Converse shoes, was a pleasant surprise. He still looked pretty fine despite the casual look.

Just as her, Jipyeong forgot they were going to the beach and were planning to dig clams so he never thought about how he was just about to see Injae wearing her most simple attire, a black tee under a denim jacket too and straight fitted jeans.

“You are early.” Injae said with a smile, snapping out of her thoughts. 

“So are you.” He replied with a chuckle, helping her put her backpack in the car trunk. “This feels like a deja’vu, it reminds me of the first time we met, don’t you think so?”

“I do, that was such a chaotic day.” A small laugh escaped her lips, remembering that fateful encounter.

Entering the car, Jipyeong took the driver’s seat while Injae took the front passenger's seat. The car they were using was a 7-seat model. The rear seats could be folded to make more space for the trunk. Since they were bringing beach chairs and other equipment, Jipyeong rented this car to make the trip ride more comfortable.

The drive was going to be long so, at first, Injae offered to drive, but after arguing for 15 minutes, they reached an agreement to let Jipyeong drive on their way there and to let Injae drive back.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


It didn’t take them too much to get to Halmeoni’s house. When they arrived, however, there was something missing. More exactly, some people were missing.

“Where’s your mother and the rest of Samsan Tech?” Jipyeong asked Dalmi. 

“They are not coming. My mom told us last minute that someone needed to change their shift so she’s at work.” 

“We tried to convince Saha but she refused to come. Chulsan and Yongsan also had some things to do.” Dosan added, his hands closed before him, apologetic. He actually knew why his friends couldn’t make it. 

_ We support you bro. Go and make some memories with her!  _

“Oh, it’s fine. We can have fun by ourselves. Let’s get in, there’s a long way ahead.”

But instead of going in, they stayed outside trying to make Halmeoni sit in the front seat. It was going to be so much more comfortable for her, but she insisted on leaving that seat for the younger ones. 

Dosan was about to take a step towards the door, so he could let the three women be together but Dalmi stopped him, grabbing his arm discreetly. 

“Why don’t you two experienced drivers sit in the front seats?”

Injae wanted to protest but then she looked at her sister and Dosan. Dalmi still had her hand placed on his arm, so Dosan was slightly blushing, playing nervously with the hem of his signature checkered shirt. Sighing, she conceded and entered the car.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


It took them an hour to get to the beach. During the ride, they talked lively at first but after 30 minutes, Dalmi was already dozing off. When Injae took a sneak peek at the rearview, she saw her sister leaning on a very red Dosan and her grandma doing her best to make her presence invisible, not wanting to interrupt them.

Injae, on the other hand, kept on shaking away the sleepiness from herself and tried her best to give Jipyeong some small talk, knowing how hard it is to drive for a long time and even more if everyone is quiet. 

Jipyeong actually tried to tell her to get some sleep as well but as Injae refused again and again, he gave in and enjoyed her company.

When they finally arrived, all of them got out of the car, stretching their sore legs and feeling the breeze that came from the sea. Dosan looked around to check if they were in the right place. Surrounded by trees, there was nothing at the left side of the road. At the right side, there was only Chulsan’s vacation house and beyond it was the beach, before the big mass of water. 

“Wow, it’s the sea!!!” Dalmi screamed, also stretching her arms. She inhaled deeply the fresh air, closing her eyes. “This is what I call healing.”

Seeing her reaction, Dosan smiled relieved. 

“Let’s go down and prepare everything for lunch.” Said Dosan, opening the car trunk.

“Would it be enough with only seafood?” 

Chulsan was the one who offered his vacation home as the destination, proudly telling them that they could dig clams and find many more seafood on the beach. 

“Maybe I should go and buy some vegetables… I saw a supermarket on the way here.” Halmeoni said, taking out her wallet from her purse. “I’ll be back in no time, you 4 start taking everything to the beach.”

“Oh, don’t worry Halmeoni, I can go.” Injae hurried herself seeing that Halmeoni started walking away. “I’ll go get the ingredients, just send me a list.”

“How are you going to bring all the food back by yourself?” Halmeoni asked, concerned, totally ignoring the fact that she was planning to go alone in the first place.

  
  
  


_ Beep beep. _

  
  
  


“I’ll go with her, Halmeoni.” Jipyeong said with a smile from the driver seat.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“Should we get some potatoes?” 

They were now strolling the supermarket, Jipyeong pushing the cart while Injae looked for all the food that Halmeoni asked them to buy. The cart was already filled with some onions, lettuce, garlic, bulgogi, samgyeopsal, kimchi, gochujang...

As Injae crossed out the things they found, she started looking for the snacks, some just for the afternoon and some to stuff their stomachs on their way back home.

Stopping in front of the snack shelf, Injae found herself amazed at the ridiculous number of different Pepero flavored snacks. Chocolate, matcha, almond, tiramisu, peanut, even blueberry yogurt and latte flavored! She remembered having those strawberries flavored with Dalmi when they were younger. They were actually her favorite ones. 

  
  


“Ugh, I can’t find strawberry flavored Pepero… Jipyeong-ssi, can you help me, please?” 

  
  


Hearing her request, Jipyeong quickly scanned the shelf, and to his surprise, he found it easily on the top. There was only one left. 

  
  


“I found it! The mint-choco one is also very good!” He said, while getting the strawberry flavored one, handing it to her.

“Oh, thanks. I’ve never tried that one bef-” 

  
  


As she had been busy looking for her favorite snack, she wasn’t paying attention to her surroundings, so when she turned to him, she didn’t expect his face to be so close. He got closer to reach the pack that was by chance right above her head. But maybe he also realized their closeness, since he suddenly froze in his place, just like her. Their eyes stayed on each other’s awkwardly, expecting the other one to move first. 

  
  


“Oh, look how lovey-dovey those youngsters are! It really reminds me of our old times, hohoho!” The voice of an old man sounded by their side.

“Right,  _ yeobo? _ That’s exactly how you looked at me, hohoho.” Replied the voice of an old granny, equally dreamy.

  
  


Flustered, Injae turned around, and taking the cart with her, she quickly came up with a lame excuse, saying she needed to look for some peanuts for Dalmi, leaving Jipyeong behind with the old couple. 

  
  


“Oh, sorry, she must be very shy. You two are such a beautiful couple, we couldn’t help it, hohoho. We wish you both lots of love and happiness together.” The old man patted Jipyeong’s shoulder friendly before leaving as well.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Dosan and Dalmi were done setting up the place when Injae and Jipyeong came back with many bags of food. They put all the meat in a portable refrigerator and then placed them under the umbrella.

“Where’s Halmeoni?” Injae asked Dalmi, while she looked around. Far away in the muddy sand, she saw a small figure. “Is that Halmeoni??”

“Yes, she went in just some moments ago to dig some seafood. She completely ignored us when we tried to call her back.” Dosan said.

Biting her lower lip indecisively, Injae started taking off her shoes, she rolled up the end of her jeans and wore the boots they brought.

“Are you going in?” Dalmi asked, surprised. Since they were young, Dalmi was the one who always spent her time playing around and always came back with dirt on her clothes and her knees bruised. On the other hand, Injae was always studying, and her hobbies were so much more refined, including listening to music and reading books. Was her sister really going into the mudflat to dig fresh seafood?? 

“I thought a lady like you would never dare to touch a squishy octopus with your bare hands.” Dalmi added defiantly, with a teasing tone.

“O-of course I can.” Injae said, accepting her challenge.

The two sisters walked towards their grandmother, bickering and challenging each other, carrying a bucket each with them to see who found more. 

But when Injae was finally facing an octopus, she felt her stomach flip. She actually just wanted to spend more time with Halmeoni to make up all the time she has lost in those 15 years, but that cephalopod was looking at her in a funny way. Taking a look at Halmeoni, she saw how she grabbed it naturally.

“I can do this much…” Injae whispered to herself as encouragement and did just like Halmeoni. “I got one!”

“I got one too!” Dalmi shouted from her spot, sending a competitive glance at Injae.

Halmeoni just sat there and looked how the two of them kept saying aloud the things they found, continuously bickering. They looked so happy. And she was happy as well. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“How is your company doing?” Jipyeong asked Dosan.

While the 3 women were away, the two of them started building up the fire. The last time Jipyeong was alone with Dosan, he left him in a hurry because of Dalmi and the last thing they talked about was  _ her _ . More concretely, Dosan’s feelings for her.

“Fine, I guess.” Dosan answered a bit awkwardly. 

“And…” Jipyeong clears his throat. “How are things going between you two?”

“Huh? With whom?” Dosan feigned ignorance but his shaky pupils betrayed him. 

“I mean… How are things between you and Dalmi? I know you like her.”

“Well… I don’t know. I thought you were against  _ us _ .” 

“You say it as If I was her real brother or something. I was just being careful.” Jipyeong said, making gestures with the barbecue tongs. “She seems pretty comfortable with you.”

Dosan didn’t answer this time and just shook his head.

  
  
  
  
  


When Injae, Dalmi and Halmeoni came back, the meat and veggies were ready so, after changing their clothes in the car, they took seats and started eating while Jipyeong and Dosan continued grilling the seafood. The food was delicious and they laughed and talked vividly. As the men were cooking, Dalmi made some wraps to feed them, but Jipyeong said he had already been eating so Dalmi could give it to Dosan, who shyly accepted it.

“Injae-ya, give a wrap to Good boy too. He is working really hard.”

“I’m okay, Halmeoni…” He tried to kindly reject Halmeoni’s suggestion.

“Nonsense!” Halmeoni interrupted him.

“Here, but I think I made it a bit too big…” Injae put the wrap in front of his mouth.

“Oh, don’t worry, it’s fine.” Jipyeong said, a bit flustered.

It was indeed a big wrap. Jipyeong opened his mouth and ate it but when he tried to chew on it, he choked a bit, alarming Injae who quickly got a glass of water for him.

  
  
  
  
  
  


Their lunch had been perfect with its imperfections. To prevent a stomachache from a bad digestion, they decided to play different board games together, like Jenga, Ludo and some card games like Go-stop. They played many rounds of Go-stop and after that, Halmeoni decided to quit and take some rest.

The four of them then decided to play Ludo in teams and the loser team had to do the cleaning. The teams were made throwing the dice. The two people with higher numbers would team up. And that’s how Jipyeong and Injae became a team and Dalmi and Dosan formed the other one. 

To say they were competitive was an understatement. What was friendship? What was family? All of that disappeared the moment Injae’s piece landed on Dalmi’s, sending her back to square one just when she was about to reach the end and when Dosan and Dalmi decided to not move their pieces, blocking Jipyeong’s way.

After some friendly and not so friendly banters, Injae and Jipyeong won.

  
  
  
  
  
  


The sun was about to set, so Injae decided to take a walk on the beach, admiring the beautiful sky. And Jipyeong joined her.

On the horizon, the sun met the sea and the moon. And there they were, walking side by side, in a comfortable silence. Only the sound of the waves and the water splashing under their feet could be heard. She had changed into a white loose shirt and black pants. The wind played with the short strands of her silky hair and she let out giggles, trying to comb her hair with her fingers. It was such a breathtaking view.

  
  


“It’s so pretty...” she muttered, her eyes focused on the sunset, unaware of the way he looked at her.

  
  


“Yeah, it is…”

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again! How was the chapter, did you like it 🙈?  
> I had a lot of fun writing it hahaha If only some of these happened in the show :’)
> 
> I wish you all a good week ahead 🥰! Let’s meet again in the next chapter!


	13. Catching feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> About how they start to see each other in a different light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you expect a chapter today? Me neither askdkfjs  
> But VolumeUp Hanna and Miima Mask Seonho summoned me hahaha  
> Long chapter ahead. I hope you can enjoy it as much as we did writing it 🙈❤️

In the fresh October morning, Dosan found himself walking to work using a different route than usual. He didn’t realize until he was in front of her front door. He only came once. The afternoon of the networking party and he didn’t even enter her house. 

So why did he end up here? He fastened his pace, thinking how creepy it would be to show up here so suddenly but then, he heard his name being called.

“Dosan-ah! Is it you?”

The young woman quickly caught up and was walking by his side in no time. She had her hair tied in a low ponytail and she was wearing a lilac jumper with dark blue jeans. It amazed him how pretty she was.

“Oh, Dalmi-ya… Good morning.”

“Good morning! I didn’t know you took this route to work.”

“I didn’t know either…” he said, more to himself than aloud.

  
  
  
  


They took the bus together and chatted lively during the ride. They got off some stops before, taking a small walk.

On their way, they saw a banner outside of a coffee shop that offered 2x1 vanilla coffee. Seeing that Dalmi couldn’t take off her eyes from it, he suggested going to buy some.

Inside the cafe, they ordered the vanilla coffees and, while waiting for them to be prepared, someone talked beside them. It was Alex from 2STO.

“Oh, good morning Mr. Nam, I have been looking for you. I see that you’re with Ms. Seo. That will make it a lot easier.” 

“Oh, Mr. Kwon. Did you need something from me?”

“I want to hire you as an engineer for 2STO. I’ll tell you the details over a coffee, let’s go sit somewhere.”

Dosan looked at Dalmi confused but they just followed Alex.

  
  
  
  
  


“The compensation will be the best in the industry. 300 million a year, plus stock worth 1.5 million over four years. What do you say?”

Dalmi’s mouth was wide open after hearing such an amount of money. But she immediately looked at Dosan, troubled, because it would be a great opportunity for him but accepting the offer meant that he would also be leaving SST.

“Well, I’m not sure.” Dosan fidgeted nervously in his seat.

“Mr. Nam. We’re 2STO.”

“I’m aware of that… But-.”

“Hey, work experience at the 2STO headquarters can change your company's future. Investors will line up with money. They would want to invest in whatever you do. Let’s say you write a book about your experience at 2STO. What is it called? Royalties. You’ll be able to live off royalties.”

“I’m not interested in writing a book. I am a terrible writer.” He said while shaking his hands, taking literally what Alex said.

“That’s not the point. Are you pushing me away because you think I’m like chairman Won? He and I are very different people. I’m not trying to exploit you.”

“ I know that. It’s just...”

“Fine. How about this? You go back to Samsan Tech after three years. What do you say? It will give Samsan Tech wings.” Alex kept talking, interrupting the indecisive younger man.

“I need time to think about it… This is too sudden.”

“Have you no ambition? No dreams?”

“I have dreams, of course.”

“Then I’ll help you make your dreams come true. Ms. Seo, help me convince him, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!!” Now he was looking at Dalmi with pleading eyes.

“Please, give him some more time to think this thoroughly and I believe Mr Nam will choose what’s best for him.”

Thankfully Alex finally desisted and dropped the topic. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


During the whole morning, Dosan had been acting strange. He made many mistakes while coding, he couldn’t focus when being talked to, he even took out his ball of wool and started knitting! Chulsan and Yongsan never saw him like that and wondered what was wrong with him.

But Dalmi knew. So when everybody was leaving that afternoon and only Dosan and Dalmi were left in the office, she approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder, as a way to try to comfort him.

“Are you okay?”

“I have been thinking about Alex’ proposal all day, but I don’t think I deserve to work in 2STO… I’m not good enough…”

“What are you saying? I know how capable you are and you were even the youngest winner of the Mathematical Olympiad!” 

Hearing her saying that, he felt guilt filling his heart. Her eyes looked at him with pride and full of admiration. She believed in the genius Nam Dosan. But he didn't. Because he wasn’t  _ him _ . 

“I cheated.” He confessed, looking away from her.

“What?” 

“I copied one question from another person… That's how I got all the questions right… If not for the sheet of paper that flew my way, I would have got only 9 questions right… And I wouldn’t have won.” 

He remembered that day clearly. The pressure from his parents, the block that made him unable to think properly and the anxiety it caused him, the way a sudden breeze entered from the window and blew away an exam sheet from another examinee and how his eyes fell upon the last question he needed to answer. He copied the answer. He cheated. He wasn’t a genius.

  
  


_ Is she disappointed…? _

  
  


“But you still got 9 questions right on your own, that’s almost all the exam!”

“Huh…?” When he turned his gaze back to her, she was still looking at him with the same eyes.

“Who said the other contestants got all the questions right? Maybe you would have still got the most points with 9 questions. And even if you didn’t, you were the youngest amongst them, getting second or third place would have meant the same, you would still be the youngest to win.”

His eyes started stinging because of how hard he was trying not to cry. 

“It must have been hard…” Dalmi said when she finally saw how sad he was. Did he see every achievement of his during this year the same way he saw that event of his life? Heart-broken, she embraced him in a hug. “It’s okay now, you did your best.”

His tears finally fell from the corner of his eyes as he buried his head in her shoulder and let out everything that had been haunting him all those years.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


During the last month, when everybody finished their work and went back home, Injae and Jipyeong would be the only ones left. He would go to her office or she would go to his, and after finishing their work they would sometimes have dinner together. This became something like a routine.

  
  


**원인재 💜:** _ “Jipyeong-ssi, this afternoon I have to go to Haun C&E because of a monthly evaluation meeting. I don’t know how long it will take, so I probably won’t be at my office tonight.” _

  
  


**한지평:** _“Okay, don’t overwork yourself. I hope everything goes well_ ◡̈ _”_

  
  


Jipyeong kept working the rest of the day in his office until all his co-workers left. So when his door opened, he almost hoped to see Injae’s face showing up. But it wasn’t her. A bit disappointed and embarrassed, he scratched the back of his head.

“Dalmi-ya, what are you doing here?”

“Are you alone today? I thought Eonni would be here as she wasn’t at her office…”

She said looking around his office. Maybe she was hiding or something. Halmeoni had prepared a ton of food for her sister so she stopped at her office some moments ago but she wasn’t there.

  
  


“Oh, that’s because she had a meeting with Haun C&E and left earlier.” He answered automatically, wondering if she was still in the meeting.

  
  


“I see… How do you know?”

  
  


“She texted me before.” 

  
  


“Ah, so it is like that… Then, are you going to stop by Eonni’s house?”

  
  


“Why would I???” Dalmi’s words shook him out of his thoughts.

  
  


“I don’t know, just tell me.” She insisted.

  
  


“I’m not.” There wasn’t any reason for him to. They  _ were _ closer than before but not that much. Not enough for him to stop by her house for literally no reason. But then Dalmi’s puppy eyes appeared.

  
  


“Oh no... Then what am I going to do with all the food Halmeoni made for my dear sister. Halmeoni gave me all these bags full of her favourite dishes. There’s even a small fridge with seafood in it! Eonni is going to starve to death and the food is going to go bad if I don’t deliver it to her today.” 

  
  


Watching Dalmi dramatically recite those words, Jipyeong obviously knew she was putting on an act and what she was trying to do, but he just couldn’t reject her when she was like that. 

  
  


“Fine, I’ll drop by her house before going home.” He said, taking the bags and letting out a tired sigh.

  
  


Looking at the heavy bags Dalmi left with him, a small smile appeared in his face. At least he would meet her again tonight.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**한지평:** _“Are you home?”_

  
  


**원인재 💜:** _ “Yes, I just came back some moments ago. Do you need something?” _

  
  


**한지평:** _“Oh, how did it go?”_

  
  


**한지평:** _ “I’ll stop by your house before going home. Dalmi wanted me to deliver something. What’s your door number?” _

  
  


**원인재 💜:** _ “Better than I expected.” _

  
  


**원인재 💜:** _ “It’s n°15, on the 5th floor.” _

  
  


**한지평:** _ “I’m glad for you. Okay, got it. I’ll be there in a moment.” _

  
  
  


The street lamps were already lit up when he arrived at his destination. Because of the late hour, everybody was already back at their houses, so it was more difficult to find a place to park his car, leaving it some streets away.

He made his way through the streets until the building, like he had done the last times he came. He was getting familiar with the different alleys, the street lamps on the sides, and the stray cat that frequented the zone. He rang the bell, waited for her to open the front door and took the elevator to the 5th floor. 

When he arrived, she was already waiting for him, still wearing her street clothes.

  
  


“Hi, Dalmi wanted me to bring Halmeoni’s food for you.” He said, hanging her the bags of food containers. “Be careful, it’s a bit heavy”

  
  


“Oh, thank you so much and sorry for the inconvenience. Wow, that’s a lot of food.”

  
  


“Hahaha don’t worry, it was on my way home anyway.” 

  
  


“It’s already this late…We can have this together if you haven’t had dinner yet.”

  
  


“I-It’s okay, I’m fine. I’m not hungry” 

  
  
  


_ Grrr. _

  
  
  
  


That was his stomach betraying him, almost as if it remembered how he chuckled when it happened to Injae and it was getting revenge for her. 

“ _ It looks like your stomach doesn’t think the same.” _ Injae repeated his words from the last time. She clearly remembered his teasing and it fired back. Flustered, Jipyeong coughed a bit, as she was trying to hold her laugh, making him redder than he already was. “Come in, there’s too much food for me. I don’t think I can finish it even after a week.”

  
  


“O-okay, if you insist.” Jipyeong followed her in, closing the door behind.

  
  


Despite the smaller dimension of her apartment, thanks to it’s black and white theme and it’s minimal decoration, it still looked pretty spacious. He took his time looking at his surroundings while accompanying her to the kitchen. She took out two of the lunch boxes and placed them on the counter and then she took the rest of them to store them in the fridge. 

While Injae was busy, a collection of wine caught Jipyeong’s attention. They were placed in a small wine rack, the first bottle half-emptied. 

“Woah, these are some quality wine you have here.” Jipyeong said, taking a closer look. He knew she had been living alone since she moved out. Did that mean that she drank alone? Just as if she had read his mind, she answered his question.

  
  


“Yeah, I enjoy drinking wine from time to time.” She said shyly, while she placed the food on plates. One of the containers had japchae, enough for both of them to share and the other one had the seafood Dalmi mentioned before. “Gosh, this looks so good!”

  
  


“This would go really well with a cup of wine.” He commented, looking at those familiar dishes.

  
  


“Would you like to have a cup?” She asked, reaching for two crystal glasses. 

  
  


“Oh, I don’t think I should, I still have to drive home.”

  
  


Injae took the glasses to the table while Jipyeong followed her and did the same with the plates. 

  
  


“You can stay the night if you want.” She said nonchalantly, sitting down.

  
  


Jipyeong choked on his own saliva, taken aback by her proposal.

  
  


_ How can she say something like that as if it was nothing? _

  
  


But he tried not to think much about it as she was only being courteous.

  
  


_ It’s just a sleepover. Isn’t that what normally friends do? It’s completely okay. _

  
  


“If you’re okay with it. I would love to be your drinking buddy.” He said as he sat in front of her.

  
  


She let out a small laugh and poured him some wine. They ate peacefully, enjoying the delicious food Halmeoni prepared, talking about their morning and afternoon and then laughing at each other’s jokes and clinking their glasses, drinking moderately only until they started to feel tipsy. 

They continued talking even after their plates were emptied and only stopped when Jipyeong saw the hour when his phone lit up.

“Look at the hour… We should get some sleep.”

“Yes, we should.” Said Injae. But then something came to her mind. She ran her fingers through her hair like she did whenever she was pensive and scanned her house. “But I don’t have a guest’s room so…”

“Don’t worry, I can sleep on the sofa.” 

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, when I stayed at Halmeoni’s I used to sleep on the sofa too.” He reassured her.

“Then I’ll bring you some blankets.”

Injae retired to her bedroom after making sure Jipyeong wouldn’t freeze to death in her living room. As he laid down on the sofa and covered himself under the soft bed sheets, he closed his eyes. It was a quiet neighborhood and the blankets smelled really nice. Soon enough, he was deep asleep.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The bright sun was already up, illuminating the city of Seoul, and its sunrays entered despite the thick curtains of the dark room. Instead of bird chirps, Jipyeong woke up at the sound of an incessant ringing.

His surroundings were so unfamiliar to him but memories of the previous night came back to him clearly. Looking around sleepy, he saw the living room of her house. And then she came out of her bedroom, still wearing her pajamas, walking towards the door. 

  
  


_ So the ringing sound was the bell… Who is looking for her so early in the morning? _

  
  


Injae looked at the intercom, wondering who it may be. She hadn’t bought anything online lately and she wasn’t expecting any visitor. But when she saw who it was, her eyes opened widely.

  
  


“WHAT IS DALMI DOING HERE???” Injae panicked seeing her sister through the camera. 

  
  


_ Dalmi??? _

  
  


Jipyeong sat up abruptly and tried to process what was going on. Taking out his phone, he saw the date and Dalmi’s various messages. 

**서달미:** _ “Did you deliver the food safely?” _

**서달미:** _“??”_

**서달미:** _ “You didn’t keep the food and eat it all by yourself, right?” _

**서달미:** _ “Why are you not answering me???” _

**서달미:** _“I’m on my way to Eonni’s house. Don’t forget it, today is the day!!!”_

  
  


“The housewarming party!!!!” Jipyeong remembered suddenly.

  
  


“What????” Injae turned to him, confusion all over her face.

  
  


“...Surprise?” 

  
  
  
  
  
  


“So, about the housewarming party. When should we hold it?”

  
  


At the Seo household, Dalmi, her mom and Halmeoni, were reunited with Jipyeong, planning to give Injae a surprise housewarming party. Almost two months had passed since Injae moved in but that wouldn’t stop Dalmi. She thought it would be even more exciting.

  
  


“I can take the day off this Sunday since I switched my shift last time.” Said Dalmi’s mom.

  
  


“Sunday would be a good idea, you don’t have to work at SandBox and I can clear my schedule for the day.” Jipyeong added, looking at Dalmi.

  
  


“Okay, just let me go to church first.” Said Halmeoni.

  
  


“Perfect. I’ll go earlier to help her clean and tidy the house. It’s going to be so much fun!”

  
  
  
  
  
  


Injae facepalmed as Jipyeong finished telling her their now failed plan. She quickly moved towards him and grabbed him by his arm as she started dragging a very confused Jipyeong to her bedroom.

  
  


“She can’t see you here.”

  
  


When she opened her wardrobe, his confused look changed into an incredulous one. 

  
  


“You don’t really want me to…”

  
  


“Hide here for a while… And don’t come out. Please.” She slightly pushed him inside and before he could protest, the doors closed before him.

  
  


Injae was quickly back at the hall and opened the front door for Dalmi. Only to spot Jipyeong’s shoes. Grabbing them, she rushed back to her bedroom and without explanation, she opened the wardrobe and gave them to Jipyeong, leaving once again.

He was now crouching inside of a small wardrobe, surrounded by only darkness. At his left side there was a small drawer and at his right side was the wall of the closet. Hanging above his head were what he guessed to be Injae’s jackets. 

He knew Dalmi was going to be there to clean and tidy before going to get Halmeoni and her mother. 

_ How long is it going to take her? _

Closing his eyes, he leaned against the wall, breathing in the lavender fragrance that filled the inside of the wardrobe. The same fragance the blankets had.

_ It smells like her… _

  
  
  
  
  
  


When Injae finally opened the main door for Dalmi, the younger woman let out a happy shout.

  
  


“SURPRISE!!! You sure took your time. Oh, did you just wake up?”

  
  


Injae didn’t have the time to look at herself in the mirror but she didn’t need to. As Dalmi guessed, she just woke up and if that wasn’t enough, she had been running around in the last 5 minutes. 

  
  


“Kind of.” Injae answered shortly.

  
  


“That’s strange coming from you. I thought you were an early bird even on Sundays, but I see you slack off just like everyone else.”

  
  


“What are you doing here?” Injae said after rolling her eyes at Dalmi.

  
  


“I came to help you tidy your house so we can celebrate the housewarming party! I’ll bring Halmeoni and mom later because they are at the church right now.” Dalmi was smiling from ear to ear. She was very excited. Sighing, she let her sister in.

  
  


“Did Jipyeong come yesterday to give you the food Halmeoni made for you?” Dalmi asked as she wandered around the apartment, reaching the kitchen.

  
  


“Uh, yeah...” Injae said, avoiding eye contact.

  
  


Scanning the kitchen, she saw two empty lunch boxes from those she gave Jipyeong. 

  
  


“You sure ate a lot yesterday, huh? Were you that hungry? Did your boyfriend dump you or something?” She asked teasingly.

  
  


“You know I don’t have a boyfriend.” 

  
  


“Yeah, sure... Let’s start tidying your house. Is this your bedroom?” Dalmi slowly approached her room.

  
  


But then Injae hurriedly closed the door and stood in front of it, not letting Dalmi get closer. Her sister gasped and looked at her suspiciously. Looking away, Injae cleared her throat.

  
  


“I’ll clean my own bedroom, you can go and tidy the living room.”

  
  


“...Eonni, are you perhaps hiding something?”

  
  


“No, I’m not, so stop being so nosy.”

  
  


“Okay, okay, I get it.”

  
  


It took them around 30 minutes to finish cleaning and tidying everything together. As they finished, Dalmi was back at the hall, putting on her shoes. 

“I’ll be back soon with mom and Halmeoni. I think we need to go home to get some things first before coming back, but it won’t take us too long. See you later.”

  
  
  
  
  
  


Injae waited for the door to close completely before running back to her bedroom to get Jipyeong out of her wardrobe. When she pulled the door open, the big tall man sat in the small corner, his head almost hidden by her numerous jackets and his arms hugging his bent legs. Jipyeong raised his head and opened his eyes, finally seeing the light.

  
  


“I almost fell asleep…” He grumbled, rubbing his eyes lazily. 

“Omg are you okay? Can you get out?” 

  
  


“Yes, but my legs went numb…” He stretched his legs out, and holding onto the drawer at his left, he tried to stand up unsuccessfully. 

  
  


“Let me help you.” Injae said with a bit of guilt, extending her arms. 

  
  


Still supporting himself on the drawer, he reached out to her with his right arm. They grabbed onto each other’s forearm and as she tried her best to pull him out of that small space and he tried to straighten up, his legs suddenly gave in and he slipped backwards.

Everything happened so quickly. As he fell back onto the wooden flooring of the closet, his head bumped sonorously onto the wall, sending him a stinging pain and making him wince and close his eyes.

  
  


“Agh…” He let out a low groan of pain. 

  
  


As he was about to sit up, he finally noticed the extra weight on him. He quickly opened his eyes, only to meet Injae’s worried ones. 

  
  
  


_ Why is she so close??? _

  
  
  


The last seconds flashed through his mind, making him remember how he slipped back and since he was still grabbing onto her arm, he had pulled her down with him.

  
  


At the realization, he was suddenly very aware of everything. He still couldn’t feel his legs, but he did feel her hands that were placed on him and the warmth of her body that was so close to his. Her lips were moving, saying something he barely could hear.

  
  


“Omg Jipyeong-ssi! Are you hurt?? Are you okay?”

  
  


No, he couldn’t hear her. 

  
  


In his ears, his heart was beating louder than her voice. He was too aware of her legs that he accidentally brushed, since they were in between his; too aware of her three-piece pajama, realizing that under the silk robe, she was wearing a thin-strapped tank top, exposing bits of her milky skin and her long neck; he was too aware of the fact that he should not be feeling this way.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


_ Why is he not answering me? Did he hit his head too hard?  _

Immediately before falling upon him, she heard the loud thud caused by the impact of his head against the wardrobe’s wall. She hurriedly raised from her position to see if it was serious and tried to ask him whether he was okay or not, but he didn’t answer her, as if his mind was not here.

She was starting to get really worried when he awkwardly cleared his throat and turned his head away from her.

  
  


“I-I’m fine…”

  
  


At his movement, she noticed his flushed cheeks and ears and how he was biting his lower lip.

Seeing that he wouldn’t meet her eyes, she finally became conscious of her own body that was on top of him, almost touching, close enough for her to smell his woody scent; of her hands that were placed onto his broad shoulders and his hard chest, and under her palm, she felt his heart beating like crazy, maybe just as fast as hers; of his almost half unbuttoned shirt and his revealing neckline; she became conscious of the fact that he probably froze in his place because he was aware of their compromising pose too.

  
  


She immediately pulled away from him and got up, taking some steps back, as waves of embarrassment hit her. Grabbing onto her robe as if her life depended on it, she tried to clear the thoughts that invaded her mind just some seconds ago.

  
  


“I-I’m sorry!”

  
  


“It’s okay, it was my fault.” Jipyeong stiffly got out of the wardrobe, the sense of his legs finally coming back in the form of tingling, the sensation of pins and needles all over his lower limbs. “I… I think I should go home and get changed before Dalmi comes back...”

  
  


“Y-yes, see you later.”

  
  


The moment Jipyeong left, Injae sat down on the floor and buried her head in her hands, feeling her still warm cheeks. 

  
  


_ Good job Won Injae. If closing a genius investor in your wardrobe wasn’t enough… You really had to have  _ **_that_ ** _ kind of thoughts about him while he was all hurt... _

  
  


And just like her, Jipyeong rushed his hands through his already messy hair.

  
  


_ I can’t believe you, Han Jipyeong. She was all worried about you but you just… get your mind out of the gutter!!  _

  
  


He slammed his head against the steering wheel and waited for his legs to go back to normal before driving back home and getting changed.

  
  
  
  
  


Thankfully, no more embarrassing incidents happened the rest of the day. Dalmi, Halmeoni and mom arrived before Jipyeong, bringing with them a lot of food, many games to play together, some presents for Injae and also a karaoke machine.

Until he came back, the three women inspected every corner of the apartment and then started preparing lunch. Jipyeong joined them in time to help them set up the table. 

Everything went smoothly if we omitted the awkward behaviour between Injae and Jipyeong. Luckily, it went on unnoticed as they spent their afternoon being competitive against each other in every game and singing their lungs out with the karaoke.

But the party came to an end when the sun hid behind the tall buildings. Mom and Halmeoni started packing up the things they brought and left first, to let the three younger ones talk before leaving.

As they left, Dalmi gestured Injae and Jipyeong to get closer to her and told them something that made them both blush intensely before leaving too.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  * E p i l o g u e 



It was Sunday in the morning. On her way to Injae’s house, Dalmi suddenly spotted a very familiar black car. Mercedes-Benz AMG GT63s. It was too similar to be a coincidence.

  
  


_ Mmmmm, it can’t be, right?  _

  
  


But it was. Taking a closer look at the car plate, she counted the numbers slowly twice. 

  
  


14 다 9361

  
  


Yeah, it was indeed his car. 

  
  


_ Is he already at Eonni’s place? _

  
  


It took her no longer than 5 minutes to get to Injae’s house from the parked car spot. After ringing the bell, she waited for her sister to open the front door for her. 1… 2… 3… 4...

5 minutes passed before the door opened.

  
  
  


_ Why did it take her so much time?  _

  
  
  
  
  
  


During her ride on the elevator, every kind of scenario appeared on her mind, each one of them more embarrassing than the previous one.

When she reached her door, she knocked it and Injae opened it for her.

At that moment she had screamed “Surprise” excited, before scanning the looks of her sister. She was still wearing her pajamas and her short hair was all messy. 

  
  


_ Then Jipyeong is not here yet??? Or…?? _

  
  


Instead of asking, she just went along with her sister and entered her house. Her sister’s apartment was smaller than her own house but then again, for only one person, it was quite big. Walking around as if she were in her own place, she got to the kitchen, where she saw two of the lunchboxes she gave Jipyeong the day before, completely empty. They were both placed in the sink, not cleaned yet.

  
  


_ Did Eonni always eat that much? This is so suspicious…  _

  
  


Was she giving in too many thoughts? Maybe she had been starving, living all alone. Maybe Jipyeong wasn’t here and his car was parked close because he went to get some breakfast nearby. Who knows?

  
  
  
  
  
  


But her suspicions only grew even more the moment Injae hastily closed her bedroom’s door when she was about to go in.

Processing the information, Dalmi gasped comically, her eyes opened big as plates.

Injae gave her a lame excuse but Dalmi didn’t buy it. Now everything pointed to one thing. It couldn’t be, right? It couldn’t be  _ that _ , right??

  
  
  


_ I didn’t know they were already so comfortable with each other. _

  
  
  


Her imagination was running wild. 

  
  
  


_ Jipyeong and Eonni couldn’t have done  _ **_that_ ** _ already, RIGHT? _

  
  
  


Shaking her head vigorously, she decided not to pry too much, to give her sister some privacy. After all, she could do whatever she wanted with whoever she wanted.

  
  
  


After 30 minutes, they finished everything. That’s when Dalmi decided to go to the church and pick up Halmeoni and their mom. Jipyeong’s car was still parked there when she left but, when she came back the car was not there anymore. Her suspicions were right.

_ Holy cow… I only hope they used protection. _

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


At the end of the party, before leaving, Dalmi waited for her mom and Halmeoni to leave. And when the 3 of them were finally alone, she turned around and gestured Injae and Jipyeong to get closer to her, talking in a small voice.

“Thank God I came earlier alone. If Halmeoni came with me at that time she would have been really shocked.” She said in a reprimanding tone, her arms crossed. Letting out a sigh, she patted Jipyeong’s arm and continued talking. “Next time you decide to sleep over you should check your schedule better, Jipyeong-ah.” 

Finally smiling again, she sent Jipyeong a wink, and then she did the same for Injae, before waving them goodbye and leaving.

  
  


Jipyeong and Injae looked at each other and slowly, they both turned red as tomatoes, getting what Dalmi was implying. When they realized that Dalmi was going home without clearing the misunderstanding, they both rushed out trying to get to her. 

  
  


“DALMI, WAIT!!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi 👁👄👁  
> Things escalated pretty quickly hahahaha Any thoughts about this chapter 😂🙈?  
> I would love it if you could share them with me. I’m not rising the ratings anytime soon but since all my previous chapters have been quite soft, I would like to know if you feel comfortable with this kind of vibe. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this. Thanks for the support and see you all in the next chapter ❤️❤️❤️


	14. ...with you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Demo Day arrived and with it, some important things too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter is here!  
> I filled the first part of the chapter with Demo Day but there are many parts of this chapter that I liked writing. Specially that part 🥰  
> I hope you can enjoy this chapter!

Even though Dalmi didn't believe their explanation at first, she eventually -like she textually said- accepted their lame excuses.

After that, Jipyeong and Injae agreed not to talk about what happened that day ever again. It was only a small accident. It was going to be the best for both of them.

  
  
  
  
  


More days passed and Demo Day was just around the corner. That’s why everyone at SandBox was really busy, and that included both Injae and Jipyeong. Injae had to prepare her pitch and Jiyeong had to monitor Samsan Tech. Meaning that their late night meetings stopped temporarily.

For some reason Jipyeong didn’t quite understand, he missed seeing Injae. Although SST and Injae Company’s office were just next to each other, they didn’t cross paths as much as he thought they would.

For that simple reason, Jipyeong, unconsciously and not so unconsciously, tried different methods and found different excuses to try to meet her.

  
  


His first attempt was casually bringing Injae some coffee, but it failed when he met Ms.Yoon at Injae Company’s door. 

“Oh, is this for CEO Seo? You are such an attentive mentor! I’ll go and get one for CEO Won as well. I should do it more often. Thanks for the idea.” She said as she went to buy a coffee, giving him a thankful nod and then leaving him alone in the corridor.

  
  
  


In his next plan, he tried to invite her to have dinner together, but much to his dismay, Halmeoni already bet him on that. So, it was another failure.

  
  
  


His last resource was to drop by more often at SST’s office, but even then, he couldn’t even get a glimpse of her through the door’s frame. 

All his plans ended unsuccessfully...

  
  
  


But the biggest question here was... why did he miss her so much? Maybe he was too used to being with her that her absence made him feel strange… He tried to reason with himself, convince himself that it was normal between friends. 

Despite his efforts, something kept bothering him.

  
  


“Hey Yeongsil, why can’t I fall asleep?” He asked the AI speaker after rolling countless times on his bed.

“You must have something on your mind.” Yeongsil answered his question, making Jipyeong sit up and look at the speaker hopeful. Was it going to answer this mystery?

  
  


“Yes, I do. What should I do?”

  
  


“Get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow, when you wake up well-rested, you’ll get fresh ideas.” The speaker gave him one of the infinite incorrect answers. 

“What did I expect…?” Jipyeong laid on his back and closed his eyes, tired. He counted to 30 and turned back to his nightstand. “Yeongsil, I can’t sleep.”

“You must have something on your mind.”

But it never gave him the answer he needed.

  
  
  
  
  


Days continued passing and before the Demo Day, came Orientation Day. This time, Jipyeong sat in his office, trying to come up with an encouraging message to send Injae but as he wrote and deleted, frustration started to increase in him.

Leaning on his office chair, he closed his eyes and let the chair make its turns and just like magic, the moment he opened his eyes, the answer appeared in front of him.

Park Dongcheon was changing into the “STAFF” T-shirt in the meeting room when suddenly, the door opened and Jipyeong came in. 

  
  
  


Obviously the CEOs didn’t expect Jipyeong to be the one giving them the orientation. The venture capitalist who usually dressed fashionably from head to toes, wore the deep blue tee and his hair was slightly out of place. As soon as he arrived, murmurs grew in the small crowd.

Dalmi’s eyebrows raised at his sudden appearance, but seeing how Jipyeong eyed Injae, she quickly understood. 

“At Demo Day, you present the results of your hard work to the whole world. After giving a short pitch on stage, you’ll answer the judge’s questions. The entire event will be broadcast live for the investors not only in the country but around the world to watch.” Jipyeong explained in front of the stage where they would be doing their pitch.

“What happens to the companies that fail to get investment?” Listening to Jipyeong, Dalmi couldn’t help but start feeling nervous. It was going to be her responsibility if SST didn’t make it.

“Why are you worrying about failing? You should be more confident and have more faith in your team and yourself.” Injae replied instead. Then looking back at Jipyeong, she continued with a question. “I heard that 2STO will be at the event looking for global partners. Is that true?” 

“Yes, that’s right.” 

“As far as I know, they’re looking for partners in the AI field, specifically.” Someone said in the crowd.

“That only leaves two companies.” Added another person.

The two sisters glanced at each other knowing very well which companies were those two. Jipyeong’s eyes landed on them, clearly feeling the tension that was forming there. 

“Forget about 2STO and global partners. Don’t you obsess over the scale, you’ll feel pressured. Just look for investors who agree with your business philosophy. Put aside all the pressure. Step on stage with confidence. Just show them how excited and enthusiastic you are now and it will be a success. Don’t be intimidated. Okay?”

Everyone answered with a loud “Okay” and continued the rest of the orientation smoothly.

  
  
  
  
  


And just like that, Demo Day arrived. The whole building was buzzing with people going around, even reporters were there. Each one of the 10 teams were reunited with their teammates, still discussing their pitch until the last minute. 

The room quiet down the moment Ms. Yoon stepped on the stage.

“Hello. I’m Yoon Seon-Hak, the director of Sandbox and CEO of SH Venture Capital. Though this is our 12th Demo Day here at Sandbox, I’m excited and thrilled as if it were the very first time. The 10 teams waiting backstage at the moment are probably even more excited than I am. The winner of this Demo Day will receive 50 million won. Also, teams that successfully secure additional funding can maintain all the benefits they have been receiving as residency winners.”

  
  


“In addition to the investors who are present here today, we have other investors from around the globe with us.” Ms. Yoon said as she turned around to wave at the multiple people that appeared on the big screen behind her. 

The people present applauded as her speech was coming to an end. Injae felt her palms getting sweaty despite the cold she felt.

  
  


“Alright. Let’s meet the teams now. First up is the team that I mentored myself. We see them on the news often these days. Ms. Won Injae, the CEO of Injae Company. Let’s welcome her with a big hand.”

  
  


Injae inhaled deeply before she looked at her teammates. Together they did a small cheer and then she left them behind, going up to the scenario. Once she was there, her eyes automatically found his eyes that grew wide, on the judge’s panel. Probably because of the white jacket she decided to wear for this important day. The edges of his lips curved up as he gave her a small thumbs-up.

  
  


_ Are you cheering on the rival team, Han Jipyeong? _

  
  


She couldn’t help but smile.

  
  


“Hello, I’m Won Injae, CEO of Injae Company.” Injae started her pitch confidently.

She introduced the problem they were going to deal with, monitoring CCTV cameras, and their solution, Guardians AI. 

Guardians AI was a technology to help overcome human limitations when monitoring. Its network was designed to spot suspicious people or activities, using human recognition technology with a 93.2% of accuracy, and immediately alert organisations that are in direct relation to the situation.

After her presentation, a round of questions from both domestic and worldwide investors followed, to which she answered outstandingly, switching in between multiple languages and with satisfying replies.

  
  
  


“Next we have the team Mr. Han mentored. Samsan Tech and their CEO Ms. Seo Dalmi. Let’s give her a round of applause.”

  
  


“Hello. I’m Seo Dalmi, CEO of Samsan Tech.” She was slightly nervous at first, but as she started introducing Noongil she left her insecurities behind. She showed how Noongil worked by letting it read the PPT that was showing and describing the judge’s panel.

Everyone was amazed with the results. Her presentation was a total success too.

However, it was still too early to be happy as Alex questioned their human recognition technology. Their accuracy was slightly lower compared to Injae Company’s, with a 92.4%. Dosan justified it by saying it was to reduce the battery consumption of the user's phone, since it was made to be used for a whole day. 

That’s why Alex suggested testing both programs in the same environment using single board computers.

SST and Injae Company were quite nervous as they believed their programs wouldn’t run on those devices, but they did. Both companies were able to execute their software, but there was one difference.

Injae Company’s program was not running as smoothly as SST’s.

  
  
  
  
  


When the results came out, there were 2 clear different reactions. Samsan Tech let out happy screams and hugged each other while Injae Company was visibly discouraged. Despite that, Injae approached the winners and gave Dalmi and even Saha a hug, congratulating them sincerely.

Instead of staying with them to see them receive their prize, Injae accompanied her team to their office. They had always been a very prideful and competitive team, so they didn’t feel too good after losing to their only rivals in Sandbox.

“It’s okay. We all worked really hard, and our accuracy was really high. We did our best, but sometimes things just don’t turn out our way. Don’t beat yourself up because of this.” Injae tried her best to encourage her team. 

The frown on their faces slowly disappeared and resigned smiles replaced them. Yi-su approached Injae and gave her a comforting squeeze on her arm.

“You also did well, CEO Won.”

Injae only smiled at her and they started picking up their things to go home.

When all her teammates had already left, Injae was still gathering her things but as she neared the door to leave, she heard some people in the corridor talking about her.

“I’m so glad SST won, they worked really hard for it.”

“Yeah, if Injae Company had won it would have been really unfair for all of us there.”

“I don’t even understand why she entered SandBox in the first place… If she wanted to start a new company, she could still have easily done it with her father’s help.”

“Exactly, we got into SandBox because we don’t have the money nor the resources to start, but she? She has everything! And she even got funds from Jeonghan Bank thanks to her father’s connections.”

Injae clenched her fists and bit her lower lip, inhaling deeply. During the relay lecture she said she didn’t care. She claimed the best revenge was indifference. But it still hurt her every single time. 

Should she go out and call them off? Or should she keep ignoring them? 

Before she could act, she heard a familiar voice talking.

“Who are you to talk about her like that? Do you even know her? You shouldn’t be talking so lightly about other people and discrediting their hard work just because of their backgrounds. If after losing, you can only say spiteful things and spread baseless rumours because of jealousy, maybe you should leave this field.”

Just as if a cat got their tongue, they looked at each other and just turned around to leave. And so, they disappeared at the speed of light. Jipyeong sighed tiredly, his heart heavy as those ugly comments replayed on his mind.

At that moment, Injae Company’s office door opened and Injae came out of it, surprising Jipyeong.

  
  


_ She must have heard them. _

  
  


“Don’t mind them.” Jipyeong said, scanning her face to see if it had affected her.

  
  


“I didn’t.” She answered him shortly and a bit colder than she probably intended. But it didn’t bother him. He stared at her a bit longer and then he put on a small smile.

  
  


“You did great today.” He said genuinely. 

  
  


_ But I could have done better. _

  
  


“Thanks.” She let out, trying to sound as sincere as possible, but Jipyeong knew she disagreed with his affirmation. 

He wanted to say something, anything, but just when he was about to open his mouth, the winning team came back loudly. He felt Chulsan come and give him a hug and then Yongsan and Dosan joined, still crying from happiness. 

As he was distracted, she left.

  
  
  
  
  
  


“Mr. Han, we won!!!” The three men kept shouting while they packed up their things. Whenever silence decided to come back, someone of them would start silly laughing and the cycle would restart. Who would believe they were 27 years old men if they saw them like that?

  
  


“You all did really well.” Jipyeong repeated for the nth time, but still happy for them, nonetheless. 

  
  


“Thanks, we owe you big time.” Said Dosan with a big smile on his face.

“Without your help we wouldn’t be where we are.” Said Dalmi, giving Jipyeong a small pat on his shoulder.

“Exactly, we are really thankful for everything you did for us.” Added the rest of the team.

  
  


“I’m not gonna lie, I didn’t expect you all to get so far. But you all did a great job and I’m really proud of you.” Jipyeong congratulated them and laughed at the reactions from the boys at his very direct words.

  
  
  
  


They didn’t spend too much time there as they decided to leave and have some food together. However, Jipyeong rejected their offer, saying he had something important to do.

He headed towards the garage as he thought about her. After all this time they spent together, working till late, they started to understand each other better. They enjoyed each other’s company, be it when they had things to talk about or just being in a comfortable silence when they worked on their own projects.

When they met at the door of her office, he could easily tell she was not okay. Was she blaming herself for the loss of their team? Did those harsh words aggravate her feelings? 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**한지평:** _“Are you okay?”_

  
  


After much thought, he ended up texting her. He had personally seen her working day after day, perfectionating every small and big detail of her project so he knew she did her best, but would she think the same? 

Waiting for her reply, he got into his car, thinking if he should just drive to her house directly. But her answer came not much later.

  
  


**원인재 💜:** _ “Yeeeah I an, I’m nverr not okay.” _

  
  
  


_ Oh no, she is definitely not okay. _

  
  
  


**한지평:** _“Send me your address, I’ll go to you.”_

  
  
  
  
  
  


It wasn’t too difficult to find her after she sent him her location. Not too far away from her apartment, there were some stalls. And there she was, eating some tteokbokki. She was still wearing his white jacket and her cheeks were quite flushed, but most importantly, there were already two empty bottles of soju on her table. The old  _ ahjumma _ of the stall brought her a third one, taking with her those that were already empty. 

  
  


“Omg, you’re drunk.” Jipyeong said as he slowly approached her, taking a seat.

  
  


“No, I’m not,  _ you _ are drunk.” She said, her finger pointing at him. 

  
  


“You could have called me instead of coming here to drink alone…”

  
  


“Then is it too late to ask you to have a drink with me?” She said as she handed him a glass of soju she just poured.

  
  


“Of course not.” He took the small cup from her cold hands and drank the contents in one shot, savouring the bitterness underneath its subtle sweetness.

  
  
  
  
  
  


“I have always thrived for the best in everything I do… I worked really hard so people would see my value, my hard work and not think of my success as something I got because of my stepfather. But it isn’t enough, is it?” 

  
  


Injae started rambling, her eyes focused on the egg roll she was tearing with her chopsticks mindlessly, saying aloud the thoughts that brought her here tonight and the reason she decided to drink that much, hoping it would make her problems disappear.

  
  


“I find myself trying to prove myself every single day but people won’t see past my surname. And even started baseless rumors… I don’t know what I did to deserve this. I feel so pathetic…”

  
  


“It doesn’t matter what you did, you don’t deserve this. You’re not pathetic, and you’ll never be, Won Injae-ssi.” Jipyeong said heartbroken. She always showed herself as someone who is strong and put her barriers on but now, she just helplessly talked about her insecurities. 

  
  


“You’re just saying that because you’re a good person and you’re trying to comfort me.” A smile formed on her face, a mix of sadness and irony on it.

  
  


“I’m saying that because I believe it is true. I have seen you working hard on everything you did and I know some of the struggles you went through. You are an amazing person and no one is going to change my mind.” 

Finally a genuine giggle left her lips. 

  
  


“Thank you.”

  
  
  
  
  


As they continued talking, Jipyeong ordered some more food and tried to subtly put them on her plate. First some tteokbokki, and then an egg roll, and then some dry squid. And at the same time, he filled his small cup with soju, keeping the bottle on his side. 

At first, Injae ate the food on her plate but as he repeated his plan, she stopped her chopsticks and raised an eyebrow. 

“I know what you’re trying to do.” She said in a sing-song voice and bopped his nose, making him blink many times. “You don’t want me to keep drinking, huh? But I’m going to drink all I want and you’re not going to stop me, Han Jipyeong.” She left out a chuckle as his face turned red.

  
  


She never showed that side of her, when she was most vulnerable, but she sometimes did when she was with him. She looked so cute. Her flushed cheeks, her beautiful eyes, her long eyelashes, her sweet voice… And her plump and alluring lips. Without realizing, he stared at her lips for a while until they stopped moving and a smirk was placed on them.

  
  


“You should be more discreet Han Jipyeong. Do you want to kiss me that much?” Injae had been looking at the way Jipyeong’s gaze remained on her lips. The soju she drank intoxicated her senses so her thoughts came out of her lips unfiltered.

  
  


Hearing her, Jipyeong’s eyes moved up and were now fixed on hers. 

  
  


“What if I do?” Unlike Injae, he only was a bit tipsy but still got carried away, going along with her, asking the question with a serious voice. 

  
  


Maybe it was the way he said it, or maybe it was the cold autumn night that slightly sobered her up. At that moment, her heart skipped a beat. Was he being serious or was he just as drunk as she was?

  
  


“You wouldn’t dare.” She tried to joke it off but the tension was still there. She instinctively reached for her soju glass, thinking about drowning the butterflies in her stomach but Jipyeong bet her on that and got it first. As she tried to take it back from him, he dodged her and downed the liquor, putting back the glass on the table.

  
  


Taking Injae by surprise, he then placed his hand ever so softly on her left cheek and closed the distance between their faces, his eyes never leaving her lips. There were only centimeters left. He was close enough to hear her inhaling sharply.

  
  


“Then would you be okay if I kissed you…?” He whispered, looking at her confused eyes to see her reaction. His hot breath fanned against her lips, sending her a tingling feeling. She sat still in her seat looking calm but her eyes wouldn’t stop wandering around his face, trying to decipher if he really meant it. No words came out of her parted lips. She didn’t know what to say. Would he really kiss her if she said ‘yes’? How would his lips feel on hers? Would they be as soft as they look? 

Her heart was beating crazily in her chest, painting her already flushed cheeks bright red but before she could answer him, his hand left her face. The sudden loss of warm contact brought her back from her thoughts, realizing that she had ended up staring at his lips. Feeling shy, she looked away.

  
  


“Sorry, I shouldn’t have done that… But you also shouldn’t joke like that, not to mention when you are drunk. You don’t know what other person could have done in this situation… Y-You should be more careful!” He blurted out with a harsh tone, blushing softly. Had he stared at her one more second, he would have lost his control.

  
  
  


_ I must have gone crazy. _

  
  
  


He turned his head away, embarrassed of himself. But then he saw from the corner of his eyes how Injae took the bottle of soju that was left and shot it down. He quickly turned back to her, alarmed, and took the bottle away from her. It was empty.

  
  


“YAH, Won Injae, stop drinking already!” 

  
  


“Stop screaming, my head hurts…” She closed her eyes and rested her forehead on her palm. Seeing her like that, Jipyeong only let out a long sigh and got up from his seat.

  
  


“Let’s go. I’ll walk you home, you have drunk too much already.” His tone was softer now. 

  
  


“I don’t want to goooo.” She said whining, shaking her head lightly.

  
  


She was so wasted.

  
  


“Come on… You should go home and rest. You drank so much you’re going to regret it tomorrow.” He said, grabbing her by her arm gently to make her stand up. 

  
  


Making a small pout, she stood up. They started leaving the stall but then she suddenly tripped and ended up hugging him, trying not to fall.

  
  


“A-Are you okay?” He flusteredly asked her.

  
  


“Yeah, never been better.” 

  
  


She let go of him, showing him a dimpled smile and started to walk away. But seeing how she swayed from one side to the other side, he knelt down before her and decided to piggyback her, not wanting her to trip on her feet again.

  
  
  
  
  


He started heading to her house as she kept rambling about not wanting to go home. Many people would be shocked if they ever got the chance to see her act like this. 

As he walked by those familiar dimly lit streets, he tried his best to keep balance but she wasn’t collaborating as she kept her back straight and only her hands on his shoulders helped her support herself. Thankfully, slowly her voice started to fade away, and she stopped moving, putting her arms on his broad shoulders.

However, before he could feel relieved, he felt her leaning in, resting her soft body on his back and her head besides his neck, closing the gap between them. He could feel her breathing and her chest rising and falling as sleepiness was gradually hitting in.

  
  


“You smell really good.” Her words slurred out her lips that were brushing against his skin. 

  
  


Did it affect him? Of course it did, he almost dropped her on the spot.

  
  
  
  
  


When they finally arrived at her front door, Jipyeong took out her keys from his pockets. Knowing the state she was in, he asked for her keys before leaving the stall. Struggling a little bit, he opened the door and got into the elevator. 

Once in her house, he went straight to her bedroom. The last time he was here, he didn’t have the time to properly take a look at it (for obvious reasons). Looking around, just as the rest of her house, it seemed quite empty, too spacious for only her. 

Freeing one of his hands, he pulled away the blanket and then carefully sat her on her bed. As he turned around, he laid her down, taking off her heels and tucked her into the bedsheets.

She was soundly asleep, no signs of sadness or stress on her angelic face. Imagining the hangover she’ll have the next morning, he decided to ordered some hangover soup and waited for it to arrive.

While he waited for the order to arrive, he looked back at her, gently brushing some stray strands of her bangs away from her face. 

  
  


“Don’t be so harsh on yourself.” He said tenderly, almost in a whisper.

  
  


That’s when she slightly moved, leaning her face towards him.

  
  


“Thank you, Jipyeong-ah…”

  
  


His heart warmed up at her words and how she said his name, but he didn’t know why.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Back at his house, he took a quick shower, trying to cool down his head. After that, he went back to his bedroom.

Too tired to put his watch properly where it belonged, he opened the drawer beside his bed, and that’s when he saw the envelope. Sitting down on his bed, he grabbed it and took out its contents. He unfolded the letter she wrote to him and read it like he had done multiple times. And then he took his time looking at her picture.

He had been giving it many thoughts and he didn’t want to accept it at first but as the days went by, it was harder to control, especially after the recent incidents. 

  
  


It was driving him insane. 

  
  


She was.

  
  
  
  
  
  


_ I think... I’m in love... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, we are finally at THIS point!   
> How did you like this chapter 🙈? I would love to read your opinions!
> 
> I’ll add more of Injae’s POV on the next chapter 🙇🏻♀️
> 
> Thanks for supporting me once again and I hope you all are healthy and happy!  
> Let’s meet in the next chapter ❤️


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